NC State QB McCall is carted off the field following a helmet-jarring hit

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State quarterback Grayson McCall was taken off the field on a cart after being placed in a brace following a first-quarter hit that jarred his helmet and the football loose Saturday in a 34-30 loss to Wake Forest.

McCall scrambled for a gain of about 9 yards before he was hit by multiple Wake Forest defenders, including Quincy Bryant, Dylan Hazen and Nick Andersen. While players headed to the other end of the field in pursuit of Wake Forest’s fumble return, N.C. State medical personnel rushed onto the field as play continued.

“He took a really vicious hit,” NC State coach Dave Doeren said. “Sometimes football is a very violent sport.”

McCall, who hadn’t played since exiting with a first-half injury on Sept. 14 against Louisiana Tech, is in his first season with the Wolfpack after transferring from Coastal Carolina, where he had a record-setting career. He lifted his head briefly when he was on the cart.

“Once he came to, he was talking,” Doeren said.

McCall, whose injury last month was unspecified but who has a concussion history, was back as the first-string quarterback Saturday. On the Wolfpack’s first snap, McCall was hit after releasing the ball on an incomplete pass, but he didn’t appear fazed.

Doeren said McCall “had a great week of practice” in gearing up for his return to the field.

“I hate it for him,” Doeren said. “The results of those kind of hits is scary.”

Wake Forest’s Evan Slocum returned the ball 88 yards to the N.C. State 2-yard line. The Demon Deacons converted for a 10-0 lead a little more than six minutes into the game.

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