RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 29: Grayson McCall Lance King/Getty Images
North Carolina State University quarterback Grayson McCall is on the mend after sustaining a brutal hit to the head during his Saturday, October 5, football game.
“Some great news: quarterback Grayson McCall has been released from the hospital,” a statement on the football team’s X page read later on Saturday. “He is alert and in good spirits and all scans were normal.”
During the NC State game against Wake Forest University, the 23-year-old quarterback had been running with the ball when he was tackled by several opponents. While Wake Forest defenses were able to intercept the pigskin, McCall was knocked to the ground and struggled to get up. According to social media footage, it appeared as if McCall’s helmet had been knocked off before the tackle.
McCall was lifted onto a stretcher, where additional videos revealed that he briefly moved his arm and hugged his parents before being carted off the field. He was subsequently taken to the hospital.
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McCall recently transferred to NC State after four years at Coastal Carolina University. Throughout his collegiate football career, he has suffered several head injuries, including concussions.
McCall even blacked out after a hit during an October 2023 game left him unconscious.
“When I really acknowledged myself, we were going to the hospital,” McCall recalled to ESPN last month. “It was a scary time. My whole world was crashing down.”
He added, “I love this game so much and quite literally put my body on the line to win football games, but at the end of the day, it’s a game and there’s more to life than playing football.
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Doctors diagnosed McCall with a traumatic brain injury and he sat out the remainder of the 2023 season, including the team’s bowl game. By December 2023, McCall entered the transfer portal and made the move to NC State.
While injuries make McCall’s football future uncertain, he still loves the sport.
“I think I’m the guy that if I come in every day with that confidence and swagger and aura — it’s very contagious and guys will follow it,” McCall told ESPN. “And then we have 100 dudes on this football team that are full of confidence that want to go whip the guy in front of them on every play. And if we take that mindset into every week, I don’t think there’s a team in the country that could play with us.”