Coastal Carolina Football

Don't worry about bringing your wallet to Coastal Carolina football games during the 2025 season.

On Monday, Coastal Carolina announced it will feature free concessions at Brooks Stadium during the upcoming campaign as part of the CCU Kickoff Meal Deal.

All games. All fans. Feast for free.

More info ➡️ https://t.co/8MsDxq5FDY
Season tickets ➡️ https://t.co/ouFKOSzPWg#ChantsUp I #TealNation pic.twitter.com/ox7qWHhCvS

— Coastal Carolina Athletics (@GoCCUsports) March 31, 2025

No - it’s not an April Fool’s joke 👌#ChantsUp I #TealNation

— Coastal Carolina Athletics (@GoCCUsports) March 31, 2025

"Our fans are the heartbeat of Teal Nation, and we're always looking for ways to elevate their game day experience," vice president for intercollegiate athletics Chance Miller said. "With the CCU Kickoff Meal Deal, we're excited to offer free concessions this fall as a way to say thank you for the energy, passion and support they bring to Brooks Stadium every game."

While specialty items such as alcoholic beverages and food from outside vendors will still cost money, fans will be permitted to acquire four free items per trip to the concession stand from a selection of hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and fountain drinks.

Fans also won't be limited to a certain number of concession stand visits, although they will be required to scan their trips through the Coastal Carolina Athletics App that has not yet been released.

A number of professional sports teams have been offering cheaper concessions of late, but free is quite the enticing step for fans. It will surely drive up attendance as the Chanticleers look to make a sixth consecutive bowl game.

They start the season on Aug. 30 at Virginia, and their home opener will be Sept. 6 against Charleston Southern.

Circle the date, Coastal Carolina fans. Because you'll be eating for free.

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 200

HAND: 9 3/4"

ARM: 32 3/8"

WINGSPAN: 78 1/8"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.72

3-CONE: TBD

SHUTTLE: 4.39

VERTICAL: 30.5"

BROAD: 10'4"

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POSITIVES

— Excellent length and size. Ideal for cornerback in the NFL.

— Very good ball skills and hands to catch the ball away from his body.

— Great vision in zone. Has a good feel for his threats and has the ability to bait the quarterback into throws.

— Triggers quickly to the run and quick game. Uses his quickness to dip and rip past blocks.

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NEGATIVES

— Plays high in his backpedal, which can affect him sinking his hips and redirecting.

— Long strider with above-average speed and lack of recovery speed when beat. Has trouble with stop-and-go routes.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 11 G, 58 TOT, 2 TFL, 1 SK, 1 FF, 2 INT, 8 PD

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NOTES

— DOB: 8/31/2000

— 23 Starts

— East-West Shrine Bowl

— 2022 All-Sun Belt Second Team

— 2021 transfer from Old Dominion

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OVERALL

Lance Boykin spent two years at Coastal Carolina after transferring from Old Dominion in 2021. He has excellent length and size for the position. He's a raw player with excellent traits, but he needs to clean up some of his technique.

Boykin is a long strider who has above-average speed when he's able to open up and run. It may take some steps for him to get going, but he does a good job of running with receivers when he's able to stay on top of the route. He's able to show his quick feet and burst on routes that are in front of him. Boykin takes poor angles to receivers at times, which allows shorter, jitterbug receivers to give him fits.

When competing for the ball, Boykin uses his length to disrupt passes. He plays with good patience and awareness on short to medium routes, but he can get turned around at times on passes down the field. When on top of routes, he is able to locate and play the ball much better, showing off his ball skills and hands.

As a run defender, Boykin uses his quickness to defeat blocks in space. However, his lack of strength can show up when he has to take on blockers. He can get stuck to blocks and occasionally gets washed by bigger receivers. Boykin is a willing tackler, but he often braces at the point of attack, taking the brunt of the blow.

Ultimately, Boykin has outstanding traits that NFL staffers are looking for. He will need time to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NFL game, but he has tremendous upside. If he sticks around for a few years, he could start for a team on his second contract.

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GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect/Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 189

POSITION RANK: CB26

PRO COMPARISON: Donnie Lewis

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

HEIGHT: 6'4"

WEIGHT: 334

HAND: 9 3/4"

ARM: 33 3/4"

WINGSPAN: 82"

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40-YARD DASH: 5.25

3-CONE: 7.6

SHUTTLE: 4.83

VERTICAL: 27.5"

BROAD: 8'6"

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POSITIVES

– Pretty quick off the ball for a nose tackle.

– When penetrating or slanting, he takes on blocks with good pad level and keeps his feet moving through contact to play in the offense's backfield.

– Impressive upper-body strength to get extension and help get a leverage advantage against offensive linemen.

– Hard to move against one-on-one base blocks, consistently creates stalemates.

– Solid at absorbing contact and staying in his gap against scoop blocks.

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NEGATIVES

– Stands up out of his stance when two-gapping.

– Plays with his hands by his waist, letting offensive linemen get to his chest.

– Doesn't have a sturdy base to hold up against blocks from the side, occasionally getting washed inside from double-teams and down blocks.

– Lacks agility to avoid getting reached or to make tackles in the adjacent gap.

– Not going to be productive as a pass-rusher. He doesn't have a go-to move and was often taken out in 3rd-and-long situations.

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2022 STATS

– 13 GM, 41 total tackles (11 solo), 10 TFL, 3.5 sacks

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NOTES

– Recruited as a tight end out of high school; not ranked in the 2018 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings

– Injuries: 2019 (torn plantar fascia, missed entire season)

– 35 career starts

– 2022 Honors: Third-Team All-Sun Belt (Coaches, PFF, Phil Steele), Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt (CFN), team captain

– 2021 Honors: dean's list

– 2020 Honors: dean's list

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OVERALL

Jerrod Clark had an interesting college career, coming in as a 230-pound tight end and leaving as a 340-pound nose tackle. His background as a skill player shows up in his get-off, as he is quick off the ball when penetrating, and his added size and strength allow him to be a space-eater in the trenches.

However, Clark is limited athletically outside of his initial quickness. His lack of agility keeps him from being able to make tackles outside of his gap if the running back cuts, and he doesn't have a go-to pass-rushing move that he'll be able to win with at the next level. Expecting him to consistently put pressure on the quarterback is unrealistic.

The Chanticleer would be a good fit for any team looking for a 0- to 2i-technique defensive tackle who can be a run-stuffer. While he's best when penetrating, he's solid at two-gapping, which makes him fairly scheme-versatile and opens up his potential suitors.

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GRADE: 6.4 (High-Level Developmental Prospect, 5th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 154

POSITION RANK: DL21

PRO COMPARISON: Mike Purcell

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder

Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall announced on Monday that he is entering the transfer portal.

https://twitter.com/McCall_Grayson/status/1602390112171589659

The three-time defending Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award winner will be expected to catch the eye of prominent football programs looking to bolster the quarterback position.

McCall, 21, earned his first Player of the Year award after throwing for 2,488 yards, 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions in 2020. He followed that up with nearly identical stats last year (2,873 yards, 27 touchdowns and three picks) before throwing for 2,633 yards, 24 touchdowns and two picks in 2022.

For his career, he's completed an impressive 70.4 percent of his passes. He's also rushed for 1,053 yards and 16 touchdowns at Coastal Carolina.

Suffice to say, he's going to be a major target in the transfer portal:

Grayson McCall to NIL collectives around the country... pic.twitter.com/l2479N1JA1

— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) December 12, 2022

Grayson McCall had schools reach out last year about transferring, even though he wasn't in the portal. Jamey Chadwell said he was staying, so McCall stayed.

He's a 3x Sun Belt POY and broke the FBS record for QB rating.

Does he follow to Liberty or go w/ pro-style offense?

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 12, 2022

Grayson McCall has thrown eight interceptions in his college career.

He’s thrown 780 passes.

If your FBS program — Florida included — isn’t at least contacting him, it’s doing this all wrong.

— Alligator Army (@AlligatorArmy) December 12, 2022

McCall's former head coach, Jamey Chadwell, agreed to take over as Liberty's head coach on Dec. 4. There will be some speculation, naturally, that McCall might consider following him there.

But the young quarterback might be looking for a higher-profile program to help bolster his NFL draft stock. As Max Olson of The Athletic reported:

"If McCall isn't looking to team up with Chadwell at Liberty, he's going to have a long list of suitors. We know this because McCall was getting approached by Power 5 schools last offseason even though he wasn't in the transfer portal. Notre Dame, Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, Wisconsin, NC State and Missouri are among the many schools believed to be hunting for transfer quarterbacks right now. McCall should get calls from a bunch of them."

Indeed he should. McCall's decision is major news for both this offseason's transfer portal and potentially for the 2024 NFL draft.

Virginia announced Saturday's football game against Coastal Carolina has been canceled in the wake of Sunday's shooting on the university's campus.

Three Cavaliers football players, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, were killed in the shooting.

In addition to canceling its final home game, Virginia said it hasn't decided on whether it will play its season finale on the road against Virginia Tech on Nov. 26.

Charlottesville police placed Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. into custody. He has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of handgun in the commission of a felony.

Jones, a former member of the football team, allegedly opened fire on a bus that was bringing students back from a trip to Washington, D.C.

University spokesperson Brian Coy told CNN the 22-year-old was already potentially subject to disciplinary action because he failed to disclose a conviction for a concealed weapons charge.

Virginia President Jim Ryan said police had yet to determine the motive behind the shooting.

The school canceled classes Tuesday, and thousands of students held a vigil in the middle of campus Monday.

In a stunning show of solidarity during a dark day here, thousands of Virginia students have descended on the school’s South Lawn to sit in complete silence at a vigil for those killed last night.

I’ve never seen anything like it. pic.twitter.com/5mk2c1aZTz

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 15, 2022

Football coach Tony Elliott addressed the situation Monday:

I cannot find the words to express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today after the tragic events last night that resulted in the deaths of Lavel, D’Sean and Devin, and the others who were injured. These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon. We are all fortunate to have them be a part of our lives. They touched us, inspired us and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university and community. Rest in peace, young men.

Athletic Director Carla Williams acknowledged Tuesday that Elliott and his players planned to discuss whether to go ahead with Saturday's game.

Virginia is 3-7 in Elliott's first season at the helm. The Wahoos' 37-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday meant they wouldn't be bowl-eligible this season.

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers celebrated their 35-21 win over the Texas State Bobcats in hilarious fashion...with an eating contest against legendary competitive eater Joey Chestnut.

Unsurprisingly, Chestnut took down the competition, but the Chanticleers can't be too upset, as they moved to 9-2 on the season with Saturday's win over the Bobcats.

So @CoastalFootball celebrated their victory over Texas State with a eating competition against @joeyjaws himself. EPIC. @sila_SK_elly @OuversonCharles @Trey_sammie65 @willykorn @CoachColtonKorn pic.twitter.com/JkLT2G43Dx

— Emily Van Buskirk (@Emilnem) November 20, 2021

Chestnut, a 14-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion, is currently ranked first in the world by Major League Eating, so it's no surprise he had an easy time beating some college football players.

It's also interesting that they decided to have a pizza-eating competition, as Chestnut recently placed second in the Fat Boy's Pizza eating competition near LSU. He ate four-and-a-half two-foot slices in 10 minutes.

Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell was named the 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year in college football, per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.

Chadwell led the Chanticleers to an 11-0 record during the regular season that included quality wins over BYU and Louisiana-Lafayette, helping the team peak at No. 9 in the Associated Press poll.

The squad earned a bid to the Cure Bowl but suffered a 37-34 loss to Liberty.

It was still a dominant season for Coastal Carolina, which finished just inside the top 20 in the country in both points scored (37.2) and points allowed (20.2) per game.

The program has only been at the FBS level since 2017, producing losing records in each of the first three seasons.

Chadwell led the squad to a 5-7 record in 2019, his second at the South Carolina school, going just 2-6 in the Sun Belt.

The massive turnaround was enough to put Coastal Carolina on the college football map while earning Chadwell a Coach of the Year honor.

Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, Indiana's Tom Allen and Iowa State's Matt Campbell were among the other top candidates for the award, which is voted upon by the Football Writers Association of America.

After leading Coastal Carolina to an undefeated regular season, head coach Jamey Chadwell has been named the Associated Press college football coach of the year for 2020. 

Per Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press, Chadwell received 16 first-place votes and a total of 88 points to beat out Tom Allen from Indiana (14 first-place votes, 66 points), Luke Fickell from Cincinnati (five first-place votes, 44 points) and Nick Saban from Alabama (eight first-place votes, 42 points).

Chadwell is just the second head coach from a Group of Five school to win the AP coach of the year award since its inception in 1998. Scott Frost was the first to do it when he led Central Florida to a 13-0 record in 2017. 

The Chanticleers were one of the most pleasant surprises in college football this season. The program went a combined 13-23 in its first four FBS seasons and had never been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. 

In 2020, Chadwell led Coastal Carolina to 11 straight wins in the regular season and a ninth-place ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. It also climbed all the way up to 12th in the final College Football Playoff rankings. 

ESPN's Bill Connelly projected Coastal Carolina to finish last in the Sun Belt's Eastern division with a 5-7 record in his preseason prediction column. 

"I knew we weren't as bad as people were going to pick us to be," Chadwell told Russo. "I thought we were going to be pretty good. I knew we were going to be better."

The Chanticleers' quest for a perfect season fell short when they were upset by Liberty 37-34 in overtime in the Cure Bowl on Dec. 26. Their 11 wins were the most in a single season for the program since going 12-2 in 2014. 

Chadwell finished his second season as Coastal Carolina's full-time head coach. He previously served as the interim coach in 2017 when Joe Moglia went on leave for medical reasons. The Tennessee native has gone 19-17 in three seasons with the Chanticleers.

Coastal Carolina's incoming president may have made more than a few friends on campus with his recent comments, but the College Football Playoff committee might not be as inclined to applaud his efforts.

In an open letter to the committee, incoming president Dr. Michael T. Benson strongly criticized the panel's ranking of CCU's undefeated team, noting the No. 12 Chanticleers (11-0) suffered from "flawed logic."

"Coastal Carolina and the University of Cincinnati have every right to be absolutely flabbergasted by both the results of the rankings, but also the flawed logic the committee used to arrive at their conclusions," Benson wrote. "I believe Cincinnati earned a spot in the playoff. And I also believe the Chanticleers were not respected when it came to bowl selection."

No. 8 Cincinnati went 9-0 during the regular season but was placed behind two-loss Oklahoma and three-loss Florida in the final rankings as well.

Despite victories over No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette and No. 13 BYU padding their resume, the Chanticleers won't be playing in a New Year's Six bowl—the Bearcats earned the final bid there. Instead, they're heading to the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl where they'll face No. 23 Liberty on Saturday.

While it's the first-ever bowl game for a program established in 2003, and in only its fourth season as a FBS school, it's not exactly the matchup an undefeated team would expect.

Benson was quick to point out how that wouldn't be the case for a brand-name school while explaining the committee runs away from the type of Cinderella stories created during March Madness by stacking the deck for top teams.

While the incoming school president said the letter wasn't written out of bitterness or with vindictive intent, it's final, blistering line calls out the committee for valuing revenue above all else.

"The lack of fairness inherent in the current system—a system driven by money as its master—must be addressed," Benson said. "You know it as well as I do; it's not right nor is it American."