Exclusive: CCU quarterback Grayson McCall talks about exiting the transfer portal and NIL
It should come as no surprise that Grayson McCall is betting on himself for the upcoming season.
“Bet on yourself” is tattooed on his leg next to a pile of poker chips, an ace-king hand of cards and a portrait of Chauncey the Chanticleer. There are other art pieces on his leg too, but that phrase acts as McCall’s motto.
“Just trust your instincts, bet on yourself, put all the chips on the table and let it ride,” McCall said.
The super senior has done that throughout his college career. McCall posted three straight seasons of at least 20 touchdowns with a minimum of 2,400 yards passing each after being lightly recruited coming out of high school.
With 2023 set to be his last year in teal and black, McCall is bullish on the upcoming season. From his goals this year to NIL, here are four things McCall spoke about recently.
Goals for the upcoming season
Above all, playing every game and maintaining his health is McCall’s top priority this year.
“That’s something I’ve had trouble with in previous years,” he added.
The proud owner of a long brown mullet that has been a staple throughout his time at CCU, McCall has missed games in all three seasons as a starter.
This offseason, McCall worked on improving his passing and durability.
McCall recently visited the Manning Passing Camp for the second time in his career this summer, where he worked out with other top college quarterbacks and “talked ball” with NFL Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning.
“It’s pretty surreal to be standing that close to Peyton Manning and allowing him to coach you,” the CCU QB said. “It was really cool.”
McCall also worked with the Coastal training staff on shoulder flexibility and bulking up in an effort to shield himself from the hits running quarterbacks like him are expected to take during a punishing season.
“I want to be more durable,” McCall said. “Just kind of putting more armor on, having a little extra layer of muscle.”
The weight gain and effort to maintain it have paid dividends. McCall said his throwing arm is stronger, although he has noticed he is a step slower than he once was.
“Maybe I’m not as quick on my feet, but once I get going I feel good that I can reach that top speed,” McCall said. “I just got to get used to it and then keep going.”
McCall, whose scrambling has led to great success as a Chanticleer, has seen his yards per carry drop every year since 2020.
Another major goal for the fifth-year player is helping his younger teammates adjust to being at the collegiate level.
“These new guys that are just getting on campus, they look up to me and what I’ve done here,” he added. “I kind of put it into perspective for them that anything’s possible if you put your mind to it and you come to work every day.”
McCall added he and the other quarterbacks bonded over the summer, Grayson posting a photo of them at a Myrtle Beach escape room.
He said he was impressed by several of the other QBs, including Kansas transfer Ethan Vasco.
“Unbelievable person,” McCall said. “Very athletic, strong guy, really good arm, kind of gives you the true dual threat aspect in his game.”
McCall also praised freshman Blake Boda, whom CCU lured away from UNLV after committing to the Nevada school.
“He’s a left-handed guy, he throws the ball really well,” he added. “(Boda’s) very knowledgeable about the game coming in here, (he) kind of impressed me.”
Bonding with Coach Beck and talking to Jamey Chadwell
McCall spoke at length about working with head coach Tim Beck and developing familiarity with him.
“The first day he talked to us, it was always ‘What can I do to help you guys?’ ‘What can I do to make this transition easier?’ He’s done a really good job of making changes in areas that we need changes.”
The North Carolinian, who has an outline of the state inked on the same leg as Chauncey the Chanticleer, said the playbook stewarded by Beck is still being installed but with a potential pro-style offense being a part of the arsenal.
Overall, the team has bought into Beck as coach, McCall said.
The ever-forming synergy between the two came after his previous coach for four years Jamey Chadwell left to take a job at Liberty University before the end of the season. McCall said he and the team knew Chadwell’s exit was coming beforehand.
“It was kind of sour there at the end, we wish we could have, had (Chadwell) for those last couple games and finished this thing off the right way,” McCall said. “He had the opportunity to kind of change his life and his family’s life. So, we understood and just kind of took the punches and went with them.”
He added the two speak regularly now.
“We stay in touch, small talk,” he said. “It’s good stuff.”
Why McCall decided to exit the transfer portal
For a time in December, it looked like McCall might follow Chadwell out of Conway too.
Beck and McCall first became acquainted when the CCU program was in flux. McCall entered the transfer portal eight days after CCU announced Beck as its new head coach.
“When we were going through a coaching change, I had some opportunities that presented themselves,” McCall said.
McCall said he had interest from several teams in the portal, including Auburn, Florida, NC State, UCLA (who Coastal will play in its 2023 season opener) and many others. The process was interesting, especially because McCall received much less attention when he was in high school.
One current SEC conference coach who recruited him out of high school, and who McCall did not want to name, expressed regret for not signing the super senior the first time he had the chance.
“The first thing he said was, ‘I missed on you one time, I’m not going to do it again,’” McCall remembered. “That was kind of funny to me that maybe I opened some eyes.”
Meanwhile, Beck was trying to keep McCall in Conway. The quarterback spoke to Beck when he entered the portal, and the former NC State offensive coordinator recruited him heavily to stay.
With a long resume at the top of college football, Beck is known for being a good recruiter, helping land former first rounded picks in the NFL Draft Jeff Okudah and Bijan Robinson in his prior stops at Ohio State and Texas, according to 247Sports.
Beck put that hat on once more with McCall, who said the coach’s pitch was simple and to the point.
“(Beck said) We’re going to build around you; we’re gonna do everything we can, to put you in the position to play at the next level,’” McCall said. “And obviously, he knows that’s my dream. That’s my goal. So, I really respected that.”
The prospect of Beck turning McCall into an NFL quarterback was intriguing for the super senior. Coupled with his love for the area and that some of the visits he had scheduled with other programs “fell through”, one such canceled visit was to Auburn University according to Auburn Live, McCall decided to return to CCU and let it ride.
“I didn’t feel the way I did about these other schools, the way I felt about Coastal,” he said. “It’s really hard for me to leave this place and go start over somewhere else.”
The benefits of NIL and the deal he wouldn’t do
Name, image and likeness has left a lasting impact on McCall’. One noticeable way is in his attire. The quarterback was wearing a Morgan & Morgan law firm t-shirt, one of the many NIL deals he’s signed in recent years, during the interview.
The quarterback has inked other deals with Darlington Speedway, local clothing brand Native Sons, Conway Chrysler and many more. His full embrace of NIL branding now accessible to student-athletes has paid dividends for him.
The website On3 Elite projects ranks his NIL value at 242 in college football. McCall says there was a learning curve in navigating NIL deals, but he praised his marketing team for steering him toward good opportunities.
But there was one deal, McCall would not do. McCall previously signed with Tom Brady’s apparel company and flew to Brooklyn, New York to do a photo shoot in 2021. But when they asked him to model the company’s briefs, he had to turn that down.
“When the shoe fits, you wear it. But in this case, I don’t know if the shoe’s fitting,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m exactly an underwear model.”
Despite turning the deal down, McCall is appreciative of the opportunity NIL offers him.
“Having the ability to make a little NIL money on top of being here and playing ball with the guys I love is huge.”
With one year left as a Chanticleer, he’ll have plenty of time to do both.
This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 9:24 AM.
