QB Grayson McCall enters portal; is reported to be considering Auburn

The Coastal Carolina QB is entering the portal and is rumored to be interested in coming to The Plains.

Author:
Lindsay Crosby
Publish date:
Dec 12, 2022 3:36 PM EST

In this story:

Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall has entered the transfer portal, and it's going to be interesting.

The only player to win Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors three times, the redshirt junior has 78 career touchdown passes to only 8 interceptions, and has thrown for 8,019 yards in his three seasons as the starting quarterback for Coastal Carolina.

Rumored to be transferring after last season, the QB reaffirmed his commitment to the Chanticleers by exclaiming "I piss teal", but this offseason is different - Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell resigned to take the head spot at Liberty University, vacated by Hugh Freeze just weeks ago when he came to Auburn.

Keith Neibuhr of On3.com noted the portal entry, expressing that he had reason to believe that McCall would be interested in Auburn's offense under Hugh Freeze and that the Tigers should be the favorites at the moment for McCall's services.

The thought of Grayson McCall in a Hugh Freeze offense is appealing. In his Sports Illustrated draft profile of McCall, analyst Eli Nachmany notes McCall's strengths are minimizing turnovers (only 8 in 780 career passing attempts), exceptional accuracy (>70% completion percentage for his career), and a willingness to pull the ball down and run (>1000 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns ). Freeze's offense is predicated on a QB that can make quick decisions, has a strong and accurate arm, and is comfortable running when a play breaks down. McCall's skill at ball fakes add a bit of deception to his game, a staple of a Hugh Freeze offense.

Auburn has hired coaches that have the track record of turning athletic playmakers, like Robby Ashford, into college star quarterbacks. Adding Grayson McCall for (presumably) one year would give new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery time to both teach the Hugh Freeze offense to Robby Ashford and develop the flashes of potential we've seen from the redshirt freshman.