Grayson McCall injury update: Week 5 status revealed

NC State quarterback Grayson McCall will not play in Saturday’s Week 5 game against Northern Illinois, a source told On3’s Pete Nakos. He also missed last week’s game against Clemson due to an injury.

McCall got hurt in Week 3 against Louisiana Tech and missed the rest of the game as a result. That kept him out against Clemson as NC State suffered a resounding 59-35 loss to the Tigers. CJ Bailey and Lex Thomas both stepped in at quarterback in that game.

McCall is in his first season at NC State after transferring from Coastal Carolina. Through just over two games under center, he has thrown for 476 yards and three touchdowns, along with two interceptions.

It’s unclear the exact nature of McCall’s injury. However, Dave Doeren said his quarterback is “getting better” and “has done a great job in what he’s allowed to do right now” during his radio show earlier this week.

Grayson McCall arrived in Raleigh as a highly touted transfer after five years at Coastal. He came in as the No. 135 overall player and No. 20-ranked quarterback in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

NC State LT Anthony Belton will not start vs. Northern Illinois

NC State enters Saturday’s game with a 2-2 record as it wraps up the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Wolfpack will also be without left tackle Anthony Belton to start the game, Doeren said. He was ejected from last week’s game after appearing to spit on a player and will not start as a result.

“I was really disappointed in Anthony Belton’s response,” Doeren said Monday, via The Wolfpacker’s Noah Fleischman. “Things happen on the pile and all kinds of things happen. We all know as players, and Anthony knows, the guy that retaliates is always the one that gets penalized. A tough lesson for him. He put strain on our team and got ejected for the game for it.”

As for what happened and ultimately led to Belton’s ejection, ABC’s Molly McGrath shared her perspective. She saw Belton attempting to protect Bailey after a Clemson player appeared to step on his helmet, and she didn’t know if the referees saw that action.

“I was standing right behind that play and I could see an orange cleat from Clemson stomp down on CJ Bailey’s head and then Anthony Belton trying to protect his quarterback and went after the Clemson players after the fact,” McGrath said. “I don’t think the officials saw the stepping on CJ Bailey’s helmet.”