CHARLOTTE, N.C., — NC State football graduate quarterback Grayson McCall’s phone began to ring before he even left the compliance office at Coastal Carolina, where he had just put his name in the transfer portal.

It was an overwhelming moment for McCall given how underrecruited he was coming out of high school — he didn’t receive a single Power Five offer then. But five years later, he was getting calls from South Carolina, UCF, Oregon State, Baylor and of course NC State.

“That was a little stressful,” McCall said. “But it’s good to feel wanted. To know that people believe in me and to give me the opportunity to play at some prestigious schools.”

Once the calls started to die down, McCall narrowed his decision down to two schools: NC State and UCF. His first visit was to NC State and as soon as McCall arrived on campus, he knew Raleigh was the place to wrap up his college career.

The year before, McCall entered his name into the portal for the first time but ultimately decided to return to Coastal Carolina for the 2023 season despite strong interest from Auburn. During that time he also talked with Doeren and other Wolfpack coaches, and they left a lasting impression on him that wasn’t forgotten when he went into the portal for the second time.

“[NC State] was ahead of everybody,” McCall said. “The standard that [Doeren] set in place, the play style that the football team has week in, week out, the toughness and the grit, the blue-collar mentality, the chip on their shoulder, that’s been me my whole career. I think it’s a perfect fit, a perfect mold for me to go in there and get the job done.”

In NC State’s situation, the Wolfpack needed McCall more than he needed it. McCall was one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the portal as a four-year starter with the Chanticleers. He won three straight Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year awards from 2020-2022 at Coastal, throwing for over 8,000 yards, 77 touchdowns and just eight interceptions in those three years.

During the 2021 season, the transfer quarterback broke the single-season college football record for passing efficiency with a 207.6 rating before Jayden Daniels reset the record last year at LSU. In that same year, McCall completed 73% of his passes, which hasn’t been done at NC State since 2003 when Philip Rivers had a 72% completion percentage.

He’s not just throwing checkdowns either. McCall averages 9.8 yards per pass attempt for his career, making him the FBS active leader in that category. Rivers was also the last Wolfpack quarterback to average over nine yards per attempt.

While he didn’t play in one of the top conferences in college, McCall performed well against higher-level competition. He led the Chanticleers to a 3-1 record over Power Five opponents, throwing five touchdowns to two interceptions. During the 2020 season, McCall quarterbacked Coastal Carolina to a 12th overall finish in the College Football Playoff rankings.

With so many schools clamoring for one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in college football history, how did NC State separate itself from the rest of the pack?

“I think it’s just success,” Doeren said. “When they see what happened when other transfers came in, how they played and how they’re treated. I think how they get information from each other too. It’s not just what I say, it’s what the teammates on the team are telling them on their visit. And they get that sense of family, you know, and what it’s like to be taken in with open arms.

“There’s a lineage of guys that have came here from other schools and had success. So we know how to integrate guys and how to get them to be a part of what we do and not just make it about them. It’s about us. And we look for people that want that they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

Graduate running back Jordan Waters was in a similar scenario as McCall, having spent his last four years at Duke and entered the portal going into his last season of eligibility. Waters was ranked as a top 10 running back in the portal by multiple publications, so he also had many teams vying for his services.

Much like McCall, NC State was in desperate need of a player like Waters. The Pack’s top returning rusher is sophomore Kendrick Raphael, who was the team’s third-leading rusher in 2023 behind quarterback Brennan Armstrong and receiver Kevin Concepcion. 

Making it clear that the Wolfpack had to sign an experienced running back out of the portal. When it came down to it, the decision wasn’t difficult for Waters. He wanted to stay in the state of North Carolina and NC State felt like a perfect fit.

“Really, it was my choice,” Waters said. “I know NC State. I played against them and their motto is Hard. Tough. Together. And they really live by that. I knew I could stay here in North Carolina close to my parents and play some good football.”

NC State hasn’t had a top-five offense in the ACC since 2018 when it ranked third in points per game and first in passing yards per game. With the additions of McCall and Waters, the expectations are for the offense to be one of the best Wolfpack fans have ever seen.

And with the stout defenses NC State has produced over the past four years and an expanded College Football Playoff, an eight or nine-win season with a bowl appearance won’t be enough. But don’t worry, Doeren and the rest of the Pack understand the expectations that have been put on this team and are ready to prove people right.

“What we did last year and the year before and the year before is good,”Doeren said. “Winning nine games is good. We don’t want to be good, we want to be the best at what we do. These guys understand that. What does greatness look like for NC State? We want to hold that trophy up at the end of the year.”