Grayson McCall: "It's Just A Team Effort"

NC State quarterback Grayson McCall met with the media in the breakout session of the 2024 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte.    

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

How much do you consider taking care of yourself? 
Yeah, that was always the plan. After last week, it was to end the draft and see what happened, and when I was injured, it kind of set me back. You know, everything was kind of reset. I didn't know what I was going to do, and I was going to play some ball game, and what that next step was going to be, and now we're just sitting down talking to my mentors, and my coaches, and my family, and just ultimately came up with a decision to enter the court of work. I wasn't just going to enter the portal and go somewhere to go somewhere. I was going to the portal and make sure I found the perfect fit before I went through that, and I think I found exactly that. 

Were you worried you weren’t going to play football again?

Yes, I mean, just dealing with a brain injury, you know, a back concussion, you know, it comes into the conversation, you know, doctors will definitely kind of shy away from that just because that's their job. I mean, the brain is nothing to play with, you know what I mean, and football is a physical sport, and you're going to have that, but yeah, I mean, definitely came up into the conversation that it was a possibility I wasn't going to play that.
 

How much have you played EA CFB 25?

I started “Road to Glory”, I've been doing that, and I really got into the other modes. I haven’t played much else yet but it’s pretty cool. 
 

Your player rating, what it was, and what was your reaction to the rating, and your reaction to how you look in the game. Some guys don't like their pictures.

Yeah, I mean, I'm pleased with my rating. 88, I like it. They made me kind of fast too, which I respect. I don't know if I still have wheels like that, but I like it. My guy can throw a ball, which I know. Yeah, pleased with the rating. The guy looks nothing like me, but still pretty cool to see my name in the jersey. They got the game day swag and everything. 
 

Yeah, I think Coach Doeren talked about a little bit of, obviously, Noah Rogers. He's one of the two really good players that grew up in the area that are going to be really good. Obviously, Jordan, obviously, was an unbelievable guy and a really good football player. Some of these guys we brought in from defense late in the transfer portal cycle, the Donovan Kaufman from Auburn, those guys are some studs and really competitive.
 

How was the first setback?

Yeah, I mean, it was a setback for sure. It was a lot of mental, a lot of adversity that I wasn't expecting, obviously. I mean, it was tough. First of all, any time you have to watch from the sidelines, you can't be out here with your teammates.  It was tough. Just so much going through my head about what the future looked like and what my plans were.

At the same time, trying to still prepare to get back on the field is a lot. I grew so much from it, though. I'm so grateful to be healthy and a fresh start. It’s been great. 
 

Yeah, I mean, I think whenever the day comes where I have to stop just focusing on football, it's a game that I love. It's a game that I've loved my whole life. It's a game that's changed my life.

It's really changed my fans' lives. That's going to be a tough day whenever that comes, but having that conversation come up, it's just surreal that any moment it can be taken away from you. It's kind of completely changed my mindset. Just being so grateful for the opportunity. To wake up, walk in the building and play football, it's unbelievable. It's something I'm really grateful for.   
 

I don't, man. I think if I had that mindset, it would just hit me. I think I just got to go out there and let it rip. Just play fast. Prepare myself and put myself in the best possible position to stay healthy. Do everything I can off the field to keep my body healthy and in shape. I feel great. My head's in the air and I don't really have any worries. I'm ready to go.
 

How crazy was it to beat BYU when you look back? How much do you think your profile naturally changed because of that game?

Yeah. It was an unbelievable year. Covid year. We weren't supposed to play them. I think we were scheduled to play them. Playing on College Gameday was fun. I think my whole life changed because of that game. Bullets, everything. Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this year. It's been really fun being a part of my team.
 

Have you ever talked to Jeffrey Gunter about his NC State time? 

I love Jeff. Jeff grew up in Durham. He spent some time at NC State. Me and Coach Thunder were actually talking about Jeff a few weeks ago. I love Jeff. Bless him.
 

It's crazy how it all worked out. Coach Beck, his staff, Coach Trickett, Coach Tony Gibson. It's like you're surrounded by people in a small circle.

Yeah, small world, but everything happens for a reason. God is going to put me in a great spot. It's been a great time. 
 

I made a good bit. I tried to narrow it down as best as I could. I was short on money. I was so empty. I only took two visits. I went to Raleigh, obviously. I went to Orlando to visit UCF. I think I had four or five in South Carolina. Oregon State. I started talking to Baylor’s coach. It was a whirlwind experience. The year before, when I was talking to Coach Thunder, I was able to talk to Coach Gibson. He's a great coach.

I didn’t want to talk anything NIL.
 

After watching some of the tape from last year, what kind of areas did you see NC State fall short? What can you do to improve upon that, especially on the offensive side?

I think it's just a team effort. I think it's the guys. They played some tough positions.

They still won a lot of football games. Everybody talks about the offense being down, but the offense played well. Obviously, we did it over the hump. We had 10 games in the league and things like that. The offense played well, and I think the guys played well. We're getting along so well now.
 

How much homework did you do before ACC just defensively? How familiar are you with other teams? Going into it, obviously a lot more now. Getting familiar with how the league plays defense and how to go about it.

Not that much. Growing up in Charlotte, I always watched ACC football. Not too familiar with the defense. Obviously, I'm watching a lot more now. Not too much.
 

Are there any individual guys on the defensive end that you're just looking forward to playing and maybe see if you can respect them to be the best in the league?

Nobody in particular. I'm just excited for the challenge. It's been a week out, but playing in such a prestigious league, it's been a lot of fun. I'm just excited.
 

Being from Charlotte, how special will it be for you to play in Bank of America Stadium?

Surreal man, Full circle helmet. It’s a stadium I grew up as a kid going to watch practice, but that's going to be a crazy one. Stadium's going to be rocking. Two really big fan bases. That'll be awesome. I'm really looking forward to that.
 

How much does the team as a whole have in the stands?

A lot. A good bit. People have been asking for tickets for months now. I'll have a big crew. 
 

What’s Dave Doeren like? 

Unbelievable dude. Authentic. Great leader. A great motivator, and a really good football coach.

Really smart. Understands it from every aspect. Offense, defense, special teams. The guy that you see on the media and you talk to is the same guy that comes in every day and coaches us. A great guy that leads a football team to where they want to go. A great guy to be around.
 

Who grew up watching the Carolina Panthers, you know that it's very smart to have a healthy fever of Steve Smith and what he says. Last year Steve Smith came out for NC State a little bit. Dave Doeren stood up to Steve Smith in the state of North Carolina and defended his team. What does it mean to be following somebody out there who's not afraid of the mighty Steve Smith?

Coach Doeren loves NC State. He's put so much into the program and the football team over the years that if people want to talk bad about the program he's going to make sure to stand up for them. After such a big win like that I think he was just fired up. He wanted to get some things off his chest. That's him. That's Coach Doeren. The energy he brings. That's him every day. He's an awesome leader.
 

Have you been to a game at Clemson before? 

No I have not. 
 

What other adults in the room are making an impression on you?

Yeah, I think it's a group effort. The whole staff in general has been unbelievable.

Kurt Roper, my quarterback coach, is phenomenal. One of the best in the country. So smart.

He's been around a lot of really good quarterbacks. He's developed a lot of really good quarterbacks. Just the staff and the family environment as a whole. The guys we came with today, the media team, to the photographers and videographers, everybody is all in on this thing together. A bunch of really good people were involved.
 

You transfer in, how long before NC State became your normal? Before that was the new thing?

Yeah, I think it took about a month to really get settled in. The first week was kind of crazy trying to understand how they do things and meeting all the people. Three to four weeks I get there and start feeling really comfortable and everybody is welcoming me. I would say about a month and then I started feeling really comfortable.
 

You're almost in T-minus mode. You're almost counting backwards to the regular season. How geeked are you for that? When you get in game week prep, how exciting is that?

I'm extremely excited.I almost want to slow down time a little bit. It seems like once you start the season everything just kind of flies by and days get mixed and things like that. But I'm excited, man. I can't wait to kick off Thursday night in Carter-Finley and get this thing rolling.