Suffering a devastating concussion against Wake Forest saw the trajectory of graduate quarterback Grayson McCall’s football career change in an instant. A player who had NFL dreams just months ago saw them taken away in an instant.
“I knew, one day the cleats were going to come off and the helmet was going to come off, but for it to happen like that and the way it did, it was just really heartbreaking for me,” McCall said.
Since retiring, McCall has taken on coaching and leadership roles with the football team, a space he said he wanted to move into in his announcement on his Instagram page. Each Saturday, McCall can be seen wearing a headset and coaching up freshman quarterback CJ Bailey.
“I look forward to taking my passion and love for the game into the coaching space to serve and lead the next group of kids with a dream,” McCall wrote on social media.
As McCall took a step back, Bailey took leaps and bounds in the starting role, continuing to improve in every game he plays. In his most recent start, Bailey completed 90% of his passes, throwing more touchdowns than he did incompletions.
According to PFF, Bailey was the highest-graded true freshman across all positions in college football with a grade of 90.7.
“I’m a true freshman, but I don’t even want to call myself that anymore because of Grayson,” Bailey said. “I feel like I’ve just been better because of him. I just feel like I’ve grown out of my title as a freshman because of him.”
Coming in behind the established veteran that McCall is, Bailey probably never had the mindset that he would see the field in meaningful game situations but here we are. Having appeared in eight games and starting in five, Bailey’s improvement has been evident as he shows more command of the offense each week.
Between Bailey’s first start at then-No. 21 Clemson and last week’s game against Stanford, Bailey’s adjusted quarterback rating jumped from 45.9 against the Tigers to 98.4 against the Cardinal.
Bailey’s performance gained national recognition for just how impressive it was. His 98.4 QBR was the highest among any quarterback in Division I and according to 247 Sports’ Clint Brewster, he’s the sixth-best quarterback in the country right now.
“I’ve made a lot of progress since the first game against [Louisiana Tech],” Bailey said. “I’ve grown a lot, I’ve gotten better every week and it’s just showing I’m getting comfortable being out there.”
It would be unfair to give all the credit to McCall for Bailey’s success, but you have to wonder would the improvements have been this quick without his presence?
“He’s been a great help, he’s been a great leader and I just try to mimic everything he does,” Bailey said. “I’ve just been watching him, observing. He’s been in my ear and helping me out. … He’s always been there for me.”
McCall could’ve left the team after suffering a career-ending injury and his teammates would have understood, but that’s not the guy he is. He chose to stick it through with his guys, showing his commitment to the team.
“He’s still coming to the games, still coming to practice, coming to our meetings in the morning, still helping with the game plan, helping us out and everything,” Bailey said.
Respect is earned, not given and before he ever played a down in the red-and-white, the transfer quarterback was named a captain, a leader of the Pack. He’s committed a life to football and knows what it takes to succeed at this level.
“I’d like to start on the college level if possible,” McCall said. “Hopefully I get the opportunity and I can make the best of it and we’ll go from there.”
McCall has already gotten his feet wet in coaching, joining head coach Dave Doeren and quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper on the sidelines during games, practices and meetings.
His relationship and chemistry with Bailey are undeniable. Being a former player, he’s a player’s coach, so much so he doesn’t even want to be called one.
“I just asked him the other day, ‘If I was to play for you, would I call you Grayson or Coach?’” Bailey said. “He said call him OG.”
You look at the most successful coaches in any sport, they almost always have played the game themselves. The playing experience is invaluable as a coach because some things you can’t teach if you never played.
The enthusiasm from McCall to continue his football career in the coaching realm is there and I’m sure Doeren and the rest of the staff would be happy to have him as at least a quarterbacks coach assistant.
Whether McCall eventually moves on to another program, he should at least get the opportunity to start his coaching journey here in Raleigh.
