Coastal Carolina
In his freshman year at Coastal Carolina, McCall was listed as the third-string quarterback behind Fred Payton and Bryce Carpenter. [8] He made his college debut against the Norfolk State Spartans on September 15, 2019, where he became the quarterback for the Chanticleers' last scoring drive, completing 3 passes for 30 yards which included a 14-yard passing touchdown and rushing twice for a total of 11 yards. [9] McCall played again the following week against the UMass Minutemen, going 1-for-1 with a negative 5-yard play. [10] He did not play another game in the 2019 season, taking a redshirt that would be applied on the 2020 season. [11]
McCall fought for the Chanticleers' starting quarterback position as a redshirt freshman during the 2020 offseason, going against Payton and Carpenter during spring practice and fall camp. While trying to obtain the position, he had to be quarantined after contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic but managed to obtain the position after beating out both Payton, who hurt his Achilles during fall camp, and Carpenter to the start the 2020 season against Kansas. [11] During his first game start against Kansas, McCall completed 11 of 18 passes for 133 yards with passing three touchdowns. He also recorded 11 carries and 73 rushing yards for 2 rushing touchdowns for a 38–23 win. His performance received national attention, earning him a Manning Award Star of the Week and a spot on the Week One Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 List. [11] After the Kansas game, he continued to hold the starting quarterback position for the rest of the season. As the starting quarterback, he led the last place projected Coastal Carolina football team to its first-ever undefeated regular season, first-ever appearance on the AP and Coaches Poll peaking at number 12, [12] first-ever Co-Sun Belt conference championship, as well as its first-ever bowl game appearance in the 2020 Cure Bowl where they suffered their only loss on the season. [13] He also led Coastal Carolina to wins in big matchups between undefeated teams against Louisiana and BYU, the latter game is considered to be the biggest win in program history and was nicknamed Mormons vs. Mullets. [14] After the conclusion of the 2020 season, McCall was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, [15] received First-team All-Sun Belt and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-American honors, FWAA Most Inspirational Freshman Award, [16] and nominations for the Davey O'Brien Award, [17] the Manning Award, [18] and the Maxwell Award. [19]
McCall entered the 2021 season as the Chanticleers' starting quarterback, being named to a multitude of preseason watch lists and teams, including Sun Belt Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, the Walter Camp Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award, and Maxwell Award watch lists. [20] [21] As the 22nd-ranked team in the nation, McCall started the season with a 52–14 win over The Citadel, going 16 for 19 with 262 yards and a touchdown. [22] Following the season-opener, McCall continued to lead Coastal Carolina on an undefeated streak until Appalachian State upset them 27–30; he threw for 291 yards and a touchdown. [23] Following the loss, the Chanticleers dropped from No. 14 to being unranked nationally after a close 35–28 win over Troy. During the game against Troy, McCall suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of play for two games. [24] Returning as the starting quarterback against Texas State, he completed 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards and five touchdowns in a 35–21 win. [25] The Chanticleers under McCall won the final game of the season and the 2021 Cure Bowl against Northern Illinois, ending the season 11–2. McCall was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and received All-Sun Belt first team honors for the second year in a row. [26] After the end of season in December, McCall stated his interest in transferring from Coastal Carolina to follow head coach Jamey Chadwell and offensive coordinator Willy Korn. After they committed to stay at Coastal Carolina, McCall did not enter the NCAA transfer portal, announcing it at a Sun Belt Conference media day with a shirt that read "I PISS TEAL". [27]
During the offseason, McCall signed a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with Darlington Raceway on July 27, 2022, becoming a promoter for the racetrack. The deal was the first NIL deal with a NASCAR-owned track. [28] He entered the season as the Chanticleers' starting quarterback, being named to many preseason awards and watch lists for the second year in a row, such as the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. [29] [30] In the season-opener against Army, McCall had three passing and one rushing touchdown in a 38–28 win. [31] He continued to lead the team on an undefeated streak for six games until they lost to Old Dominion 21–49. [32] McCall had 3 passing touchdowns that game to reach 72 career passing touchdowns, tying with Alex Ross for the most in Coastal Carolina history. [33] He broke the record the following game against Marshall in a 24–13 win with one passing touchdown. [34] In the game against Appalachian State on November 3, he suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. [35] Following the end of the regular season, McCall was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and onto the All-Sun Belt first team for the third year in a row. [36] On December 12, it was announced that he would enter the NCAA transfer portal. [37] While in the transfer portal, McCall returned from his injury to play against East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl, but was suffered an upper-body injury in the 29–53 loss. [38] On January 1, 2023, McCall exited the transfer portal and stayed at Coastal Carolina after being recruited heavily by new head coach Tim Beck, despite previous head coach Jamey Chadwell leaving to coach at Liberty. [39] [40]
McCall and Darlington Raceway renewed the NIL deal for another year as a promoter on March 23, 2023. [41] The season started with McCall being named to the Davey O'Brien preseason watch list along with being touted as a potential 2024 NFL draft prospect. [42] [43] McCall started his third season in a row as the Chanticleers' starting quarterback against UCLA, where they lost 13–27 despite having possession for most of the game. [44] Coastal Carolina bounced back the next week against Jacksonville State with a 30–16 win, with McCall throwing his 80th career touchdown. [44] In the October 21 game against Arkansas State, McCall suffered a concussion that knocked him unconscious. The concussion required him to be carted off the field and sent to the hospital, where he was released the following day after the game. [45] Following the concussion, he was out for the most of the regular season with a longer-than-expected recovery process. [46] [47] McCall was on the roster for their last regular-season game against James Madison, but did not see any playing time. [47] McCall entered the transfer portal for the second time on November 29, 2023. [47]
NC State
On December 13, 2023, McCall announced that he would be transferring to NC State to play as a graduate student. [48] During the offseason, McCall spoke with media saying that he transferred to NC State for the culture but also called the memories at Coastal Carolina "unbelievable". [49] McCall entered the season on no preseason watch lists or awards, the first time since his true freshman season. Prior to the first game of the season against Western Carolina, McCall was named the starting quarterback of the Wolfpack, earning the job over freshman quarterbacks CJ Bailey and Lex Thomas. McCall led the team to a 38–21 win as the 24th-ranked team in the nation with three touchdowns and one interception. [50] NC State lost their next game against the 14th-ranked Tennessee 10–51, with McCall calling his performance "embarassing". [51] In their next game against Louisiana Tech, he suffered a day-to-day injury, with Bailey taking the starting quarterback position. [52] On October 5, he returned against Wake Forest as the starting quarterback, where he suffered a severe head injury in the first quarter of the game, resulting in his helmet coming off his head in the air after being hit simultaneously by two Demon Deacons defensive players. [53] Following his injury, Bailey was again named the starting quarterback for the Wolfpack. On October 23, McCall announced his retirement from football, citing the injury against the Demon Deacons as well as another head injury he suffered the prior season with Coastal Carolina as the reason he would be stepping away. [54]
