Quarterback Grayson McCall took a shocking double hit against Wake Forest on Oct. 5. The first tackle took McCall’s helmet off and the second one slammed him into the ground. He was immediately attended to and carted off the field and to a hospital. McCall had just been cleared to come back from a nearly career-ending concussion that he sustained last season.
McCall sustained a similar concussion while playing for Coastal Carolina around this time last year. He laid unconscious on the field before being taken to the hospital. After sitting out the remainder of the season at Coastal Carolina, McCall transferred to NC State during the following offseason.
Head Coach Dave Doeren referred to McCall’s injury as the “scariest moment” of his coaching career. Doeren knew that McCall had a history of concussions which makes it all the scarier. Having multiple concussions can cause permanent brain damage. Once you get one concussion it becomes increasingly easier to get another.
Concussions are essentially brain trauma. The more often you experience a brain trauma the more likely you are to seriously damage your brain. Although concussion symptoms typically dissipate within a week or so, the more concussions you sustain the more likely you are to experience long-lasting symptoms.
In an interview before the Syracuse game, Doeren confirmed McCall’s concussion. He also said that “all the scans and things they did came back clean.” Which is a good sign that McCall will be alright and may even be able to return to the field this season.
Yet in that same interview, Doeren was asked about injury updates for the rest of the team and responded with: “I don’t have to discuss injuries, so I’m not going to. …There are no rules around that. I’d rather not talk about their health.”
Although it may seem weird to not tell fans about the injuries players sustain, it is a pretty common practice amongst NCAA coaches. For NC State fans it has been the object of conversation this season due to the sheer number of players on the team that have been injured. Since the team is now missing a handful of players, with undisclosed injuries and no timelines for their return, it is making an already dismal season look worse.
Dacari Collins, Brandon Cisse, Val Erickson, Hollywood Smothers, Devan Boykin and Grayson McCall are among the players missing games. There has also been another injury since the Wake Forest game.
At practice, linebacker Caden Fordham, who recovered a fumble at the Louisiana Tech game, sustained an injury that will require surgery.
Yet again, the team has not disclosed exactly what his injury is.
With some of the key players out on injury, the rest of the season is going to be an uphill battle for the Wolfpack. Collins is one of the starting wide receivers and Cisse was a starting cornerback. Of course, McCall was the starting quarterback as well. Although it may not seem like a lot of people, it is going to shake up the formations.
Plays that the team is used to running won’t be called, voices that they are used to hearing won’t be heard and players that would normally get tackled, won’t be. As of writing this article, NC State is sitting at 13th out of the 17 teams in the ACC with a win-loss ratio of four to four.
The NC State football team started off the 2024 season sitting at #24 in The Associated Press (AP) preseason poll. That poll was for the entirety of the NCAA. Yet now, after eight games, NC State is nowhere near The AP top 25, or even their honorable mentions. After all of these injuries, it is likely that NC State will continue to fall in rankings unless something changes.
Athletic Director Boo Corrigan thanked the Wolfpack fans for filling Carter-Finley Stadium every single game, and continuing to do so, regardless of the success of this season. The only thing left to do is hope that the NC State Football team will avoid any more injuries and finish out the season strong.
