Today is 75 days from our first college football game of the season. This is also our 200th post! Thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far. We are only getting started. Today’s subject is one of the newer programs in FBS. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers program began in 2003. The Chanticleers made the jump from FCS to FBS following the 2016 season. They joined the Sun Belt in 2017 and became eligible for bowl games for the 2018 season. Coastal Carolina has quickly become one of the best group of five programs and they are not going away anytime soon.
One reason Coastal Carolina has become famous is because of their turf. Brooks Stadium went under renovations in 2015 and a new turf color was selected. Coastal Carolina chose to go with teal turf, the same color as their uniforms and logo. The field has been nicknamed “surf turf” as the field is a similar color to the ocean. The university, located in Myrtle Beach, only 10 miles from the ocean. The program gained even more notoriety during the 2020 season. The Chanticleers went 11-1 and finished the season ranked 14th in the country. The season included a win over Zak Wilson and BYU which was also the host of College Gameday. The lone loss of the season came against Liberty in the Cure Bowl.
Head coach Jamey Chadwell had another impressive showing in 2021. The Chanticleers finished 11-2 with the loses coming by a combined five points. Quarterback Grayson McCall has been the leader of the team the past two seasons. McCall has thrown 53 touchdowns and only six interceptions over the span of two seasons. He was also third in the nation in completion percentage sitting at 73.0%. Only Spencer Rattler and Will Rogers were in front of him.
The Surf Turf is likely to see another double digit win season from the Chanticleers. McCall will be looking for a new top target after Isiah Likely and Jaivon Heiligh departed for the NFL. No returning receiver has caught more than six passes. McCall should have time to develop chemistry with his teammates since the first two games are Army and Gardner-Webb. The Chanticleers cannot sleep on Army but it is a game they should win easily. Coastal Carolina is likely to remain on of the favorites for the Sun Belt and they deserve to be.
