By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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Grayson McCall was one of college football’s best quarterbacks as a redshirt freshman; somehow, he’s been even better as a sophomore.

As a redshirt freshman, Grayson McCall led the Sun Belt in passing yards and passing touchdowns and ranked fifth nationally with a passer rating of 184.32, all for a Coastal Carolina team that finished the regular season unbeaten, moved into the national top ten and won a conference co-championship. The greatest season in program history featured one of the greatest seasons by a freshman in recent memory; McCall is the only freshman to finish in the top five in passer rating since Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett in 2014.

For his encore performance, McCall now leads all of college football with a passer rating of 213.35, early success that is on par to be be a new single-season FBS record. McCall promptly ranks number one in the country with a 78% completion percentage and number one with 12.5 yards per pass attempt; those would be new FBS records as well. The Chanticleers slot second nationally at 8.57 yards per play and are tied for fifth with 18 touchdowns scored. Coastal Carolina, correspondingly, is 3-0 and ranked 17th in the polls.

After an off-season of attention and acclaim, McCall opened the year with 16-of-19 passing for 262 yards and a touchdown in a game one win over The Citadel. Week two saw him complete 17-of-21 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns, adding a rushing score, in a triumph over Kansas. McCall, in last Saturday’s victory at Buffalo, was 13-of-19 for 232 yards and three more touchdowns. There is a remarkable consistency to his game; it’s currently a proficiency which nobody else can match.

Before fully appreciating what McCall is doing, it’s worth contextualizing all that he has done.

This past fall, McCall became just the 5th freshman since 2000 with at least 25 touchdown passes and 500 rushing yards in a single year, joining Barrett, Dan Lefevour, Johnny Manziel and Marcus Mariota, the latter two ultimately winning Heisman Trophies. McCall had the highest passer rating of the group and was the only one to have an undefeated regular season. None of the other all-time greats had more top 20 wins than McCall, either.

Of quarterbacks with at least 210 pass attempts, McCall’s mark has him in exclusive company as he, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Zach Wilson, Russell Wilson, Jalen Hurts, Robert Griffin III, the late Colt Brennan and Jameis Winston are the only signal callers with a passer rating of at least 184 this millennium. Add in McCall’s 569 yards rushing and the lone quarterbacks with those minimums are Murray, Griffin, Hurts and McCall. Murray and Griffin won Heismans. Hurts recently finished second.

The memories, from Coastal Carolina’s famed 2020 run, are many. McCall had two five-touchdown showcases, including his first start at Big XII foe Kansas, three more four touchdown efforts, three 300-yard passing performances and eight outings with at least 40 yards rushing. His last game as a freshman, an instant classic in the Cure Bowl with Malik Willis and Liberty, came with 318 passing yards and three touchdowns and 96 more rushing yards and a score. McCall and Tajh Boyd are the only players the last 20 years with that production in a bowl game.

As the Chanticleers made history, however, McCall was more than just momentous. He was magic.

With Coastal Carolina tied in an early season clash with nationally-ranked Louisiana, McCall and the Chanticleers got the football at their own 16-yard line with just over five minutes remaining. They responded with 11 plays and 61 yards and a Massimo Biscardi game-winning field goal with just four seconds left. Just over a month later, with traditional power Appalachian State leading Coastal Carolina 23-21 midway through the fourth, the Chanticleers went on a 10-play, 49-yard touchdown drive in 4:35 to retake the lead on a Reese White run. D’Jordan Strong followed with a pick-six to seal Coastal Carolina’s victory.

The most dramatic finish of the regular season came in the Chanticleers’ finale at Troy in a game where McCall scored twice in the game’s final 5:03. His last touchdown was more than just a game-winner, but a gut-check as well. After an interception led to the Trojans taking a late three-point lead, McCall got the football back with 1:20 play and history hanging in the balance. He responded by going 4-of-4 for 71 yards, adding a four yard rush, finding Jaivon Heiligh on a game-winning 23-yard strike. As a result, Coastal Carolina was 11-0.

Though production was hard to come by, McCall, with C.J. Marable taking the lead offensively, avoided the big mistake in a signature win over Wilson and top 15 BYU.

In five games against teams with winning records, three of whom would go on to at least ten wins a season ago, McCall threw eleven touchdown passes compared to just one interception, adding five rushing scores, compiling over 270 total yards per game. Coastal Carolina scored an average of 34.2 points per game in those five matchups. McCall finished fourth nationally with a 174.49 passer rating against teams with winning records and ninth with a 159.61 mark in games against ranked foes. Against the best, he was often at his best.

McCall was one of college football’s best quarterbacks as a redshirt freshman; somehow, he’s been even better as a sophomore. As the Chanticleers continue to pursue perfection, McCall is, too.

Just a few games into his second season atop the depth chart, McCall has moved to the top of the statistical charts. A powerful teal tide, he and the Chanticleers continue to rise. Even with resumes to remember, they are just now getting started.