Graduate quarterback Grayson McCall announced his retirement in an Instagram post on Wednesday evening.
The announcement comes after McCall suffered a concussion in NC State’s matchup against Wake Forest on Oct. 5 after a head-to-head collision on the field.
“Unfortunately, my dream has been cut just short,” McCall wrote. “As you all know I have battled injuries my whole career, but this is one that I cannot come back from.”
NC State Athletics told Technician that going forward, McCall will still be on the team and participating in practices and other team activities.
McCall has a history of concussions, one of which resulted in a brain bleed. He suffered a concussion in October 2023 while playing for Coastal Carolina that doctors later elevated to a traumatic brain injury, cutting his season short. McCall entered the transfer portal in December 2023, announcing his commitment to NC State two weeks later.
“From Porter Ridge to Conway and this past year in Raleigh, this journey has been better than any dream I could’ve ever envisioned,” McCall wrote. “This game has taken me places I never thought I would go, and has shaped my family and I in ways I never imagined. I have made so many memories that will stay with me forever, and I am so grateful for that.”
McCall suffered an undisclosed injury earlier in the season against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 14, two weeks prior to the concussion against Wake Forest.
The graduate signal-caller had an impressive collegiate career, becoming the only player to win Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year three times, taking the award from 2020-2022. As a redshirt freshman, he led Coastal Carolina to No. 12 in the AP Poll. As a sophomore, McCall set the single-season record for passer efficiency rating in FBS history.
“As I feel like my whole world is being taken from me, I feel some sense of contentment,” McCall wrote. “Every time my feet hit the grass, I left every single ounce of myself on that field. I always played my hardest and to the best of my ability because I never knew what play would be my last.”
McCall said he plans to continue participating in football by becoming a coach in the future.
“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.
