Clemson Tigers to Face True Freshman with NC State Veteran QB Ruled Out

The Clemson Tigers will face off against a true freshman this weekend when the North Carolina State Wolfpack come to town.

Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers will not be facing the North Carolina State Wolfpack at full strength on Saturday as it appears they will be down their starting quarterback.

NC State gunslinger Grayson McCall, who was knocked out of this past Saturday's victory over Louisiana Tech with an undisclosed injury, was described by head coach Dave Doeren on Monday as 'day-to-day' but also shared that the team is going to take their time with the injury.

Filling in for McCall this past week and seemingly in line to start this week is true freshman CJ Bailey. Bailey completed 13 of his 20 attempts for 156 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception in the 30-20 home victory over the Bulldogs. He did, however, rush for a 1-yard score as a part of his 4 carries for 27 yards.

McCall, who left the game in the second quarter, was 9 of 13 for 54 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions at the time that he exited.

"It's good news on [McCall]," Doeren said of the injury. " We're going to take our time, and when he's ready, he'll be ready. CJ [Bailey] is ready to play and he's our quarterback until that happens, and we're behind him."

According to 247's Composite Rankings, Bailey was a 4-star prospect in the class of 2024 out of Hollywood, Florida, rated as the No. 432 player in the nation, the No. 29 quarterback, and the No. 57 player in the state of Florida. He won three straight state titles for Chaminade-Madonna Prep and threw for over 3,000 yards and 45 touchdowns in both of his junior and senior seasons.

McCall, unlike Bailey, has a ton of playing experience at the college level having spent five years at Coastal Carolina before transferring to NC State this offseason in what was seen as one of the bigger quarterback portal moves of the cycle. Despite the hype, he had been struggling thus far, getting absolutely brutalized by the Tennessee Volunteers' defense in week two during what ended up as a 41-point blowout loss in Charlotte.

The Tigers are currently 19.5 point favorites over NC State in a game that will be played at 12 p.m. Eastern in Death Valley.