College Football: 7 quarterbacks with something to prove in 2022
By Eric Finney
The 2022 college football season is rapidly approaching. Here are 7 quarterbacks who will play with a chip on their shoulder this fall.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the “star of the show”? The famous actor or actress that reels in the major movie roles, or the upcoming television superstar who cannot go to the grocery store without being surrounded by the paparazzi.
Welcome to the life of a college football quarterback.
Okay. I may be overexaggerating a tad bit, but college football quarterbacks are subjected to an immense amount of praise or scrutiny based on their performance and their respective teams’ results.
As a result, the perception of a quarterback can be judged on a game-by-game basis. The star quarterback from the previous season can be sitting on the bench in a blink of an eye or be the center of a Heisman campaign.
The fickle nature of the position provides quarterbacks the opportunity to redeem poor play from previous seasons or earn the respect of the football world by dominating their competition.
Let’s take a dive into seven quarterbacks who have something to prove during the 2022 college football season.
Grayson McCall
Followers of the Sun-Belt conference do not need an introduction on who Grayson McCall is, but here is some background for anyone not familiar with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers’ signal-caller. McCall is the reigning back-to-back Sun Belt Player of The Year and has amassed a laundry list of accolades during his time in Conway, South Carolina. His 2020 and 2021 seasons produced: a 71% completion percentage, 5361 yards, 53 TD-6 INT, 859 rushing yards, and 11 rushing TD.
Coastal Carolina runs an offensive scheme that causes opponents fits and McCall is the perfect pilot for this operation. The system is based on a “triple-option” run game. The triple-option allows the quarterback to distribute the ball based on the defender’s reaction.
McCall flourishes by making decisive reads and limiting turnovers with elite ballhandling skills. His ability to be a threat as a passer and a runner has allowed the Chanticleers to have one of the most prolific offensive attacks in the country.
McCall’s success is undeniable, but the question remains if his playstyle translates to the NFL. Although he is draft-eligible, he decided to return to campus to prove his ability to NFL evaluators; questions persist if he can make traditional reads in a prototypical NFL passing system.
While the NFL does possess triple-option or “run-pass option” (RPO) concepts, as seen with quarterbacks Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) and Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), it is a rarity that NFL offenses run these concepts exclusively. Additionally, Coastal Carolina competes in a Group of 5 conference, the Sun Belt, which garners concerns if his elite play is simply due to average Division 1 competition. Not to mention he underwent off-season shoulder surgery on his throwing shoulder and was a non-participant during spring practices.
McCall will be competing to prove that he is a legitimate NFL prospect and that his surgically repaired shoulder is 100% healthy during the 2022 season. He spurned the NFL draft and potential transfer portal opportunities to play at the Power 5 level to return to Coastal Carolina. All eyes will be on Grayson McCall to lead the program to new heights this fall.