Sun Belt standout heads to NC State
Quarterback Grayson McCall announced Wednesday he’ll transfer from Coastal Carolina to North Carolina State following an injury-plagued season in which he appeared in only seven games, and former Wolfpack quarterback MJ Morris is heading to Maryland.
Meanwhile, Texas backup quarterback Maalik Murphy told ESPN he intends to enter the portal and will not be with the third-ranked Longhorns for their College Football Playoff matchup with No. 2 Washington in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Murphy started two games for Texas this season when Quinn Ewers was out with an injured shoulder. The second-year player and former four-star recruit has passed for 477 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Texas still has highly touted freshman Arch Manning to backup Ewers throughout the postseason.
McCall, a three-time Sun Belt Conference player of the year, will join a Power Five program that has won at least eight games in six of the last seven seasons. He will go into his final season in line to replace Brennan Armstrong as the Wolfpack’s starter.
McCall started the Chanticleers’ first seven games this season. He sustained a head injury in the fourth quarter against Arkansas State on Oct. 21 and hasn’t played since.
In 42 career games, McCall has completed 70% of his passes for 10,005 yards with 88 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Morris, a second-year player, started four games for North Carolina State in the middle of the season, replacing Armstrong.
He then asked out of the lineup so he could redshirt the rest of the season and save a year of eligibility. Morris passed for 719 yards, 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions as the Wolfpack went 3-1.
The day after former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard committed to Notre Dame, Blue Devils teammate defensive end R.J. Oben decided to join him in South Bend, Ind.
Stanford’s Benjamin Yurosek, one of the top tight ends in the Pac-12 and a three-year starter, entered the transfer portal after an injury-shortened season in which he made 16 catches for 239 yards. He had a combined 92 catches for more than 1,000 yards in 2021 and ‘22.
Two-year starting defensive backs Decamerion Richardson of Mississippi State, Tamarion McDonald of Tennessee and Brandon Johnson of Duke also are in the portal, as is Wisconsin linebacker Jordan Turner.
Georgia freshman linebacker Marvin Jones Jr., a five-star recruit, also entered the portal.
AUBURN TACKLE
Auburn All-SEC defensive tackle Marcus Harris says he will skip his final season to enter the NFL Draft.
Harris, who was a firstteam Associated Press All-SEC pick, made the announcement in a social media post Tuesday night.
The 6-3, 295-pounder made 40 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks this season, easily the best of his college career. He didn’t indicate if he would play in Auburn’s Music City Bowl game against Maryland on Dec. 30.
Harris transferred from Kansas after the 2020 season. He had 11 sacks and 23 1/2 tackles for loss in 37 games with the Tigers, making 97 tackles.
His younger brother, Pike Road (Ala.) High School defensive lineman Malik Blocton, has already signed to play for Auburn next season.
RUTGERS COACH
Greg Schiano, who will be taking Rutgers to its second bowl game since returning as head coach in 2020, has been given a new contract through the 2030 season.
Athletic Director Pat Hobbs announced the deal Wednesday, roughly two weeks before the Scarlet Knights (6-6) are to face Miami (7-5) in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28.
Schiano will be paid $6.25 million next season. He had signed an eight-year deal for $4 million annually when he took over for the 2020 season.
Schiano, the program’s alltime wins leader with 86, has guided the Scarlet Knights to eight bowl games heading into the game later this month. The Scarlet Knights are 5-2 in bowl games under Schiano.