Coastal Carolina Preview: First Look at the Chanticleers

It’s official, folks. BYU formally announced they they will play at #18 and 9-0 Coastal Carolina Saturday. College Gameday will be present and host from Conway, South Carolina.

Team Overview

The Chanticleers are the third highest ranked non-P5 team behind Cincinnati and BYU. They play in the Sun Belt and their best wins include a road win at Kansas, a road win over #25 Louisiana, and a win over Appalachian State. Louisiana won at Iowa State in September and their lone loss was at home versus Coastal.

CCU is 16th nationally averaging 38.7 ppg and 13th defensively giving up 16.8 ppg. They run the ball more than they throw and are even when it comes to rushing and passing yards, averaging 226 yards through the air and 222 on the ground.

Defensively, Coastal can get after the quarterback. They are 11th nationally with 25 sacks on the year and are led by a great senior duo along the defensive line (more on that below).

Offensive Players to Know

• Grayson McCall, Quarterback — The redshirt freshman is a dual-threat QB who has been very been very efficient this season. McCall has passed for 1,747 yards and 20 TDs with just 1 interception. He completes 67.2% of his passes and has rushed for 365 yards and 5 TDs. McCall is a capable signal caller who hasn’t put Coastal Carolina in many tough spots.
• CJ Marable, Running Back — The senior back rushed for over 1000 yards last season and is the leading rusher once again. Marable has rushed for 592 yards and 8 TDs on the year. His 6 receiving TDs are also second on the team. Coastal is a run-first team and Marable is the guy that leads things.
• Jaivon Heiligh, WR — The junior wideout leads the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He has 41 receptions, 682 yards and 8 receiving TDs. The next closest receiver is RB CJ Marable with 24 receptions, so Heiligh is targeted often.

Defensive Players to Know

• Tarron Jackson, DE — The senior DE is the best player on Coastal’s defense. He was a first-team preseason All-Sun Belt selection and leads the team and fourth nationally with 8.5 sacks. Brady Christensen has been one of the best offensive lineman in the country this year and will get a test Saturday.
• CJ Brewer, DT — It’s not often you see interior defensive line put up big sack numbers, but Brewer does just that. Brewer has 6.5 sacks on the year and forms a great 1-2 punch with Jackson along the DL. Brewer isn’t huge for a DT — he’s 6-foot-2, 280 pounds — but he causes havoc along the defensive front.
• D’Jordan Strong, CB — Strong is tied first nationally with 5 picks on the season. Zach Wilson has only thrown 2 picks this year and will face one of the best corners he’s seen this season.

Overall, Coastal is a good team — there’s a reason they are 9-0. BYU will be hyped for this game, but they have to come out focused if they don’t want to drop this highly anticipated game.