Coastal Carolina star quarterback Grayson McCall will miss three to six weeks with a foot injury, the university announced Wednesday, putting his availability for the remainder of the regular season -- and perhaps the postseason -- in jeopardy. McCall sustained the injury during a 35-28 win over Appalachian State on Nov. 3 in which he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
The victory launched Coastal Carolina into sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt East. At 8-1 (5-1 in Sun Belt), the Chanticleers are the favorites to make an appearance in the conference championship game. However, losing McCall is a major setback for their New Year's Six dreams down the stretch. Coastal Carolina is unranked in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings, but an undefeated run against Southern Miss, Virginia and James Madison could get them into contention with AAC contenders Tulane and UCF. Losing McCall makes that path much more difficult to traverse.
McCall ranks No. 6 nationally in yards per pass attempt at 9.5, and he has 21 touchdowns to just one interception. The senior has completed more than 70% of his career pass attempts for 75 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, along with 15 scores on the ground while running Jamey Chadwell's whirling option passing offense.
With McCall out, the Chanticleers will turn to either backups Jarrett Guest or Bryce Carpenter. The duo have combined for 71 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception on just 10 pass attempts in 2022. The Chanticleers went 1-1 in games that McCall missed in 2021 with a win over Georgia Southern and 42-40 loss to Georgia State.
