Of mullets and men: Grayson McCall’s chance to rewrite his ending at NC State
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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — It was a late December morning, more or less like any other for Grayson McCall, except on this day, he awoke with the urge to destroy something beautiful.
A couple weeks earlier, he had committed to NC State after spending five years at Coastal Carolina, saddling up for one last rodeo as a college football quarterback at a bigger school, on a bigger stage. That lit the fuse.
For the past few years — effectively as long as anyone outside of his hometown of Indian Trail, North Carolina, had known him — McCall was branded as the swaggering, rollicking, beach bum quarterback of an upstart team from (just outside) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He won games (32 in 40 starts) and threw touchdowns (87) and, as he noted in slightly more colorful language during the high-flying 2020 season when Coastal was 11-0 and ranked inside the top 10, he was Chanticleer teal through and through.
More than all of that, however, the one thing everyone knew about McCall was this: He sported a glorious, luxurious, cascading mullet.
The front was a precisely quaffed billboard for handling business. In the back, a flowing, wild mane that instantly informed the world that this guy knew how to party.
It was his calling card, but on this morning, McCall was ready to reinvent himself.
“I just chopped it off,” McCall said. “I FaceTimed my mom leaving the barbershop, and she’s like, ‘What the hell happened?'”
McCall was almost entirely ignored as a recruit, then his 2020 season catapulted him to stardom on the national stage. For the next four years, he existed as both a football player (a three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year) and as a brand (college football’s favorite blue-collar underdog). But after a nearly career-ending injury in 2023, he figured he needed a new challenge with a new team, one he could help propel to new heights.
And, he needed a haircut.
McCall’s mom, Lisa Kottyan, wasn’t the only one horrified by this new clean-cut look.
McCall had the mullet for his official visit to NC State in early December. When he arrived back on campus in January, quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper didn’t recognize him.
Center Zeke Correll, who’d transferred from Notre Dame, met McCall for the first time on that visit, too. It was what sold him on his new quarterback.
“The first thing I noticed was the mullet,” Correll said, “and I was like, this is a guy I can play with.”
The world’s loss, however, was McCall’s catharsis.
This year, he decided, he’d debut the new Grayson McCall: older, wiser, more appreciative of how rare it is to script the right ending.
“And everything I’ve heard since,” McCall said, “is ‘Where’s the mullet?'”
MCCALL PLAYED HIGH school football at Porter Ridge, where head coach Michael Hertz ran the triple option. McCall put up good numbers, mostly with his legs, but lived in the shadow of more heavily recruited quarterbacks in the area like Sam Howell and Garrett Shrader.
Coastal Carolina, which didn’t become an FBS program until 2017, wasn’t in the business of landing elite recruits, and in McCall, coach Jamey Chadwell saw a tough quarterback with a good skill set who already knew the basic contours of his option scheme.
“I won’t tell you we knew all along, but had the tools to be pretty good,” said Chadwell, now the head coach at Liberty. “Where we were surprised is, he threw the ball really well.”
McCall redshirted the 2019 season, but by the summer of 2020, he’d blossomed — and so had the mullet.
The COVID-19 lockdowns led to a lot of bad hairstyles, and a few Coastal veterans decided the mullet would make for good team bonding — meaning any aspiring QB1 had to do his part.
“I wouldn’t say we required it,” linebacker Silas Kelly said. “Strongly encouraged.”
The Chanticleers, who were picked to finish last in the Sun Belt in 2020, opened the season with an upset win on the road against Kansas. McCall had won the starting job just four days earlier, but he had already delivered the school’s biggest win as an FBS program.
A month later, McCall and the Chants knocked off No. 16 Louisiana. From there, they just kept winning and McCall’s legend kept growing.
There’s a play from Coastal Carolina’s otherwise forgettable 51-0 win over Georgia State in 2020 that secured McCall’s mythical status. McCall rolled out to his left, forcing the edge rusher to either cover the running back or converge on the quarterback. The defender — 6-2, 260 pounds — engaged McCall, who tossed wide to his tailback, then swung the defensive end to the ground like a rag doll.
For any defender worth his salt, it was humiliating.
For McCall, it was the moment he became a social media celebrity, with the clip going viral.
“When your quarterback is out there hip-tossing D-linemen,” said former Coastal linebacker Teddy Gallagher, “everyone starts to believe in him. He’s a dude. He’s tough as nails.”
By early December, Coastal Carolina was 9-0, ranked No. 14 in the country, and after a series of unlikely pandemic-related twists, a showdown with fellow Cinderella BYU — ranked eighth nationally — was cobbled together with just a few days’ notice. The game was branded as “Mormons vs. Mullets” and ESPN’s “College GameDay” was on campus. BYU was a heavy favorite, but McCall helped engineer a 13-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that keyed a 22-17 win for Team Mullet.
Coastal finished the year 11-0 before falling to Liberty in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl, and McCall’s final stat line was otherworldly: 26 touchdown passes, three interceptions and more than 3,000 yards of total offense in just 11 games.
Over the next two seasons, he was just as good — 51 touchdown passes and five interceptions in 2021 and 2022.
It had all been easy — “always sunshine and rainbows,” McCall said. But then Chadwell left to take the Liberty job, and suddenly McCall realized he might be better off in the transfer portal.
“It seemed like I was taking a call from every school in the country,” he said.
Only, he couldn’t walk away from Coastal.
He doesn’t regret staying, he said, but the story didn’t have a happy ending.
THE FIRST THING McCall remembers is laying splayed on the turf, surrounded by teammates.
It was Oct. 21, 2023, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. McCall had just scrambled out of the pocket, darted downfield and slid for a first down. An Arkansas State defender dove at him anyway, his helmet catching McCall under the chin. McCall’s head whipped back and hit the turf.
McCall had concussions before, but he’d never blacked out. This time, he had no recollection of the play.
Instead, he remembers in vague snippets the confusion, the neck brace, the stretcher, the ambulance.
“When I really acknowledged myself, we were going to the hospital,” he said. “It was a scary time.”
He spent a night in an Arkansas hospital before returning home. None of his family members had traveled for the game, but they met with doctors a few days later. The news was not good.
The doctor called it a traumatic brain injury.
The family went to lunch afterward, and Grayson was quiet. It was his dad, Jody, who spoke up first.
“This is about your health and your life and not football,” he said. “You need to really think about what’s best for you to move forward in life.”
Grayson played his first football game when he was 5, and though no one was keeping score, Jody remembers Grayson diving for a runner’s flag on the final play of the game and missing.
Grayson was quiet in the backseat of his dad’s truck on the ride home.
“You alright?” Jody asked.
“No,” Grayson replied.
His dad gave him a pat and reminded him that no one wins every game.
Grayson looked up with tears welling in his eyes.
“But if I’d just gotten his flag,” he said.
“That’s when I knew,” Jody said. “This kid is die-hard.”
Now, 16 years later, the kid was considering life after football.
“My whole world was crashing down,” McCall said. “I love this game so much. But it’s a game and there’s more to life than playing football.”
McCall sat out the rest of the season, though he attended every Coastal practice and game, including the Chants’ bowl game in December. By that point, the medical reports were more encouraging. McCall was given the OK to return to the field.
Facing a possible end to his career had changed him though, and he finally felt ready to leave Coastal. This time, however, the pool of portal suitors was thin — Baylor, UCF, a few others.
But the first coach he heard from, on the day he entered the portal, was NC State’s Dave Doeren.
“You want to come home?” he asked McCall, selling him on playing in North Carolina.
McCall did.
“When can you get here?” Doeren asked.
MCCALL SURVEYED THE defense and saw a blitz coming, so he flipped the protection and shifted one of his receivers. He took the snap, and the pressure arrived instantly — a zero blitz from NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, who’d been trying to fluster the new quarterback throughout fall camp.
McCall sidestepped a defender, set his feet and unleashed a dart for a touchdown.
In the aftermath, McCall calmly turned around, feigned exhaustion and grinned at his coach.
“Wow,” he said. “I really had to play quarterback there.”
This is what Doeren loves about McCall. He’s a veteran who knows the job inside and out. But he also has a swagger to the way he plays, the way he carries himself that’s infectious.
“I think I’m the guy that, if I come in every day with that confidence and swagger and aura — it’s very contagious and guys will follow it,” McCall said. “And then we have 100 dudes on this football team that are full of confidence that want to go whip the guy in front of them on every play. And if we take that mindset into every week, I don’t think there’s a team in the country that could play with us.”
One of McCall’s first orders of business upon arrival in Raleigh was to start feeding his O-line.
“Steaks,” Correll said. “That won my heart over right away.”
Tight end Justin Joly remembers McCall taking him out for hot chicken in the spring. On the drive home, McCall spotted a makeshift shop selling fireworks on the side of the road. He looked at Joly, a fellow transfer, and smiled: “Why not?” he said. They set them off that night to great fanfare.
“He’s just a joy to be around,” Joly said.
The response to the practice touchdown also was a subtle nod to all the criticism that still swirls around McCall. Coming out of high school, he was pegged as an option quarterback, and so he was ignored. Five years later, after a mediocre half-season outside of Chadwell’s option system, the same criticism applied.
“If you truthfully watched every play from the last four years, you wouldn’t say that,” McCall said. “But it was kind of like [Chadwell] leaving. We won 30 games in three years, and everyone in the country should want him. And the same for me. Instead, it was like ‘I don’t know if we take a chance on this guy. Is he a system quarterback or can he get the job done?'”
For NC State, that doubt feels familiar. The Pack have been ranked in six of the past seven seasons, reaching as high as No. 10 nationally, but haven’t finished better than 20th. It’s a program that has won nine games in four of the past seven years, but has hit 10 wins just once in its history — 22 years ago. It’s a charter member of the ACC, but it hasn’t won a conference championship since 1979.
“You just have to walk over hot coals until they’re not hot anymore, and then you have the scars to prove it,” Doeren said. “That’s life, and I believe when you do that, you create karma.”
Maybe it was that karma that led McCall to NC State, a place where a chip on the shoulder is a part of the uniform.
“He fits that mold,” offensive lineman Anthony Belton said. “As a team, we just feel NC State’s always second or third. We’ve got that sense of like, they’re trying to little bro us again. We’ve got to keep proving people wrong.”
Proving people wrong is nearly as much a part of the McCall brand as the flowing locks.
“The mantra and the culture here matches up with how I want to play football,” McCall said. “Tough, blue-collar guys that work their asses off and want to win a lot of football games.
“I’m the guy that can lead these guys to where we want to go.”
MCCALL GOT HIS first tattoo after that miraculous 2020 season. It’s on his right leg, an image of three crosses with “Proverbs 5:6” underneath. The Bible verse is about understanding the future — that it is both malleable and unknowable. If there’s a lesson to be learned from McCall’s story, that’s it.
He was once an overlooked recruit, then a fan favorite. He gave all of himself to football, then he saw it nearly taken away. He was first wary of a fresh start, then he demanded one.
He’s come to appreciate what he can control about his story and what he can’t.
The rest of his right leg is a testament to the journey: A Chanticleer logo, his jersey number, an outline of North Carolina with his hometown highlighted, an ace of hearts with the reminder, “Bet on yourself.” If NC State wins an ACC championship this year, he’s promised to add a wolf tattoo, too.
On the front of his leg is an image his roommate designed last year. It’s a sword splitting the words “faith” and “fear,” one atop the other, because that’s how he sees the world. Faith above fear, always.
McCall has faith in this team. The Wolfpack believe he’s the man who can lead them to unprecedented heights. Fate has not ascribed the outcome for the overlooked QB or the “little brother” team, and so they can still keep reaching toward their goal.
McCall isn’t thinking as much about the future now though. Nor is he trying to outrun the past. He’s in a place of balance and, he’s come to realize, he looks a lot better in that place with a mullet.
“Some people think it’s a superstition now,” McCall said, “but I embrace it. When everyone thinks of that 2020 season and my personality and how I play on the football field, it’s, ‘He’s a tough dude with a mullet who loves football.'”
The hairdo is not quite back to its former greatness — the business side more corporate casual, the party side a mere cocktail hour. It’s a work in progress. Then again, so is McCall. So is NC State. The future malleable and unknowable.
“My journey’s been crazy,” McCall said. “But ultimately, I’m healthy, and I’m just so excited to be here with this staff and these players and to be playing football again.”
Every week, we gather a panel of our MLB experts to rank every team based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we knew going into the season. Those power rankings look at teams as a whole — both at the plate and in the field.
But, how different would those rankings be if we were to look only at major league offenses?
We’ve seen a number of offensive explosions so far in the 2025 season — from torpedo bats taking the league by storm on opening weekend thanks to the Yankees’ barrage of home runs to Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani each putting together yet another all-time campaign at the plate.
The latest offensive shake-up came in the form of a blockbuster trade, with the Red Sox sending All-Star slugger Rafael Devers to the Giants in a deal that reverberated around the league. How did it impact the two teams’ offensive outlooks?
Our MLB power rankers came together to sort baseball’s lineups based on what they’ve seen so far and where teams currently stand. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Jeff Passan, David Schoenfield and Bradford Doolittle to break down the top 10 offenses in baseball, from each team’s catalyst to the lineup’s biggest weakness.
Top 10 lineups
Why it’s so fearsome: You start with the second-best hitter in the world in Shohei Ohtani, add in the National League’s leading hitter for average in Freddie Freeman and the NL’s OBP leader in Will Smith, mix in Mookie Betts, and finish with power up and down the lineup — and you might have the best lineup in Dodgers history. Indeed, their current wRC+ of 124 would be the highest in franchise history. There is just no room for opposing pitchers to breathe, and the Dodgers have a nice balance of left- and right-handed hitters who make it difficult for opposing managers to optimize their bullpen matchups.
One weakness: Michael Conforto has been a big disappointment as a free agent, hitting .170 with only four home runs while playing nearly every game so far. The bench was weak to start the season, but the Dodgers jettisoned longtime veterans Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes and called up Hyeseong Kim and top prospect Dalton Rushing. Kim has been outstanding, hitting .382 in his first 30 games, while Rushing has played sparingly as the backup catcher.
Player who makes it all click: As the leadoff hitter, Ohtani’s presence sets the tone from the first pitch of the game — and he already has hit seven first-inning home runs in 2025. With 73 runs in the Dodgers’ first 72 games (he sat out two of them), Ohtani is on pace for a remarkable 164 runs scored, which has been topped only twice since 1900 — once each by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. (They also each have the only other seasons with at least 160 runs scored.) With Ohtani making his 2025 pitching debut Monday, we’ll see if that affects his offense, but it didn’t during his final season with the Angels in 2023 when he posted a 1.066 OPS while pitching. — Schoenfield
Why it’s so fearsome: The Yankees homer more than any team in the American League. They walk more than any team in all of MLB. They don’t strike out excessively. They punish fastballs. Judge, the best hitter in baseball, anchors their lineup. Seven other regulars are slugging at least .428 in an environment where the leaguewide slug is under .400. There are 100 more reasons the Yankees’ lineup induces such anxiety in opposing pitchers, but it can be encapsulated this way: It’s a lineup without a real weak link, filled with professional hitters who take quality at-bats, at a time when so few make that a priority.
One weakness: Calling this a weakness is a stretch, because the most important point about the Yankees’ lineup is that it doesn’t have a weakness, but they have been worse with runners in scoring position than in situations without runners on second or third. The Marlins have more home runs with players in scoring position than the Yankees. New York’s slugging percentage in such situations dips from .451 to .407 — good for 13th in MLB. It’s also 140 points below the Dodgers’ mark. But fear not: Slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who epitomized clutch for the Yankees last postseason, is back after sitting out the season’s first 2½ months. As if the rich need to get any richer.
Player who makes it all click: What, were you expecting J.C. Escarra? The answer, of course, is Judge, the two-time AL MVP whose combination of power and plate discipline is gifting the Yankees another potential all-time season. It’s not simply the .378 batting average — which is 56 points higher than his career best — or the resplendent home runs he hits, to left and center and right, making the whole field his playground. Even after a miserable series against the Red Sox over the weekend, there is an expectation that Judge will rebound because he hits the ball so hard and so consistently makes contact. The Yankees without Judge are good; the Yankees with him are undeniable. — Passan
Why it’s so fearsome: The lineup depth has been ridiculous, and that trait has been even more stark since Matt Shaw returned from an early-season demotion and began contributing. The Cubs’ collective OPS from spots seven through nine in the batting order is more than 50 points better than the second-best team. Some of that stems from Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting seventh early on, but Chicago has maintained its top-to-bottom consistency all season. This keeps the plate full for run-producers Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki.
One weakness: The Cubs have been good at just about everything that goes with producing runs. They rank in the top 10 in all three slash categories, are fifth in homers and second in steals. You really have to squint to find a weakness. You can point to a big disparity in road production (.808 OPS) compared to what the Cubs have done at Wrigley Field (.702 OPS). But that too might even out as the weather factors in Chicago work more consistently in favor of hitters.
Player who makes it all click: Crow-Armstrong might be the Cubs’ best MVP candidate, but Tucker is the best hitter and the best exemplar of Chicago’s good-at-everything attack. Tucker leads the team in runs created and OPS+, and though he’s not Crow-Armstrong on the bases, he has swiped 18 of 19 bags. None of this is out of scale with Tucker’s track record. This is who he is — except maybe a little better, as he has walked more than he has struck out. If Tucker’s power bat heats up with the summer weather, look out. — Doolittle
Why it’s so fearsome: The Diamondbacks do a little bit of everything. They already have two 20-homer hitters in Corbin Carroll and Eugenio Suarez, plus Ketel Marte, who sat out a month because of injury but could still reach 30 home runs. They are fourth in the majors in walks and fifth in on-base percentage, so they get on base. Geraldo Perdomo has been a solid contributor the past two seasons but has added some power. He has more walks than strikeouts and has already established a career high in RBIs, adding depth. Josh Naylor is hitting around .300 while replacing Christian Walker’s production at first base.
One weakness: Center fielder Alek Thomas is the only regular with a below-average OPS+, and even then, he’s not awful. The bench is a little thin beyond Tim Tawa and Randal Grichuk, as backup catcher Jose Herrera has provided little offense. The Diamondbacks’ biggest potential weakness is their struggle against left-handed pitchers. (They have an OPS more than 100 points lower than against right-handers.) Carroll, Naylor and the switch-hitting Marte have each been significantly better against righties.
Player who makes it all click: As explosive as Carroll has been at the top of the order, Marte is the team’s best all-around hitter. Like Perdomo, he has more walks than strikeouts, making him a tough out with his ability to put the ball in play and also take free passes. He has the power (36 home runs in 2024) to clear the bases, but he also excels as a baserunner and can have Naylor and Suarez drive him in. When the Diamondbacks reached the World Series in 2023, Marte was the offensive leader, hitting .329/.380/.534 that postseason. — Schoenfield
Why it’s so fearsome: The Mets’ lineup runs sneaky deep, boasts a combination of average and power, and has the fourth-lowest strikeout rate in the major leagues. Low strikeouts often equate to decent batting averages, but the Venn diagram with contact orientation and power is sparsely populated. Beyond the overall numbers, the Mets’ lineup is packed with stars: Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and the team’s best hitter this season, Pete Alonso. A resurgent Jeff McNeil deepens a group that hasn’t received quite the expected output from Soto. He’s starting to find his rhythm, though, and once that happens, the Mets are bound to be even better.
One weakness: Considering the Mets have multiple options at third base, the quest for an internal solution isn’t banking on the fortunes of a single player. It could be Mark Vientos, the postseason star last year who’s set to begin a rehab assignment next week after a disappointing start to the season. It could be Brett Baty, who has shown plenty of power but still sports a .267 on-base percentage. It could be Ronny Mauricio, the rookie whose pop — and allergy to getting on base — is similar to Baty’s. Regardless of who it is, manager Carlos Mendoza has time to figure out how to maneuver his lineup so that other offensive holes at catcher and center field (when Jeff McNeil isn’t playing there) aren’t nearly as glaring.
Player who makes it all click: The Mets have been clicking without the best version of Soto, so it’s no surprise that in the past 16 games — in which Soto has hit .333/.507/.685 with five home runs — they have scored at least four runs 15 times. As good as New York is without Soto performing, he is their double-click — the catalyzer who brings about action. Even at his lowest points this season, he was managing to get on base, and that’s what makes Soto such a transformative player: His floor is extremely high. When he’s feeling his swing and unleashing shots to all fields, he’s capable of reaching a ceiling higher than all but a handful of hitters in the game. — Passan
Why it’s so fearsome: The Phillies have veterans with big names who have all been productive hitters at various points in their careers — although not necessarily in 2025. Kyle Schwarber has been the lynchpin so far, moved out of the leadoff spot and leading the team in home runs, runs scored and RBIs. Trea Turner is having his best season since joining the Phillies in 2023, with a .364 OBP that would be his highest since 2021. Alec Bohm has been on his usual roller coaster — homerless in April but hitting .331 with seven home runs since the beginning of May.
One weakness: Catcher J.T. Realmuto has carried a huge workload through the years but is now 34 years old and showing some signs of age with career lows in batting average, slugging and OPS. Bryson Stott was an above-average hitter in 2023 before dipping last season, and he has been even worse in 2025 with an OPS+ of just 75. Part-time center fielder Johan Rojas provides speed and defense, but not much offense, and as usual, the bench is pretty weak. Yes, that’s more than one weakness.
Player who makes it all click: As important as it is to have Turner getting on base, this lineup will always revolve around Bryce Harper and his ability to go on hot stretches. He hasn’t had one yet this season and is currently on the injured list because of a right wrist injury. His .446 slugging percentage and .814 OPS are his lowest since 2016. Harper has always been an outlier of sorts — he ranks in the second percentile in swing-and-miss rate in 2025 but in the 67th percentile in strikeout rate — so these aren’t necessarily signs of a decline. Philly just needs him to get hot once he returns. — Schoenfield
Why it’s so fearsome: It’s not. That’s the thing about the Tigers. One gander at their lineup cards — manager AJ Hinch has used 60 different variations over 71 games — and it doesn’t exactly strike fear. And yet that’s the beauty of the 2025 Tigers: They’re managing to score oodles of runs without a single hitter sporting a slugging percentage higher than .500. It’s not like the Tigers are particularly good at avoiding the strikeout (24th in MLB) or taking walks (18th). They don’t hit home runs in bunches (10th) or steal bases at all (30th). They’re simply solid, almost from top to bottom, replete with enough hitters who are league average or better to cobble together runs.
One weakness: The strikeouts are problematic — and a third of Detroit’s regulars struggle to counterbalance them with walks. Kerry Carpenter (52 strikeouts, seven walks), super-utility man Javier Baez (48 strikeouts, eight walks) and catcher Dillon Dingler (56 strikeouts, five walks) constitute one-third of players in all of MLB with at least 48 punchouts and fewer than 10 walks. Riley Greene’s 93 strikeouts lead MLB. And in the postseason, where the pitching gets better and every out is valuable, giving away at-bats by swinging and missing too much is a distinct no-no. Even with the strikeouts, the Tigers won’t be an easy out in October. But among the teams with legitimate playoff aspirations, only Boston punches out more, and it’s the sort of thing that could haunt Detroit.
Player who makes it all click: There isn’t one player, per se. One night it might be outfielder Greene, and another one first baseman Spencer Torkelson, and sometimes outfielder Carpenter, and maybe even infielder Zach McKinstry or outfielder Wenceel Perez. But if there’s one player whose skills differ from his teammates’ and set the table, it’s second baseman Gleyber Torres. Operating on a one-year deal, Torres has been the Tigers’ most consistent hitter this season, getting on base at a .377 clip and walking more than he strikes out. He exemplifies Detroit’s lineup — its team, really — in that nothing he does is particularly sexy but it’s unquestionably effective. — Passan
Why it’s so fearsome: “Fearsome” might be a stretch, but after a horrible April (.656 OPS), the Blue Jays did follow up with a strong May (.785 OPS). June has so far split the difference (.709 OPS), so maybe that’s the true level here, which makes this more of a league-average offense — and, indeed, that’s where the Jays currently stand in runs per game. But there is potential for more here, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Anthony Santander, Bo Bichette and Andres Gimenez all capable of more offense than they’ve offered so far.
One weakness: Power. George Springer leads the team with 10 home runs, and the Jays have been outhomered by their opponents 99-70. Left field has been a problem all season, as seven different players have started there, combining to hit .223 with only four home runs. Gimenez was acquired for his defense at second base, but he has been a flop at the plate, hitting .212/.291/.327 with four home runs (and that’s after homering three times in the first five games). Lately, he has even been benched against left-handers.
Player who makes it all click: The $500 million man is hitting more like a $50 million man right now (.275/.375/.414, eight home runs) — but when he’s hot, the offense runs through him. Guerrero had a monster season in 2021 — but that was the year the Jays played more than half of their games in minor league parks because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Guerrero had a 1.418 OPS in their spring training park and a 1.180 OPS in Buffalo (and a .935 at Rogers Centre). He was great again last season — thanks to a .342 BABIP. This season, it’s back down to .299, right around his career mark, but even that doesn’t explain the decline in power. The Jays need Guerrero to start mashing. — Schoenfield
9. Athletics
Why it’s so fearsome: They hit home runs and they hit for average, ranking in the top 10 in the majors in both categories. Jacob Wilson has been the breakout star with a .362 average in his rookie season, Brent Rooker is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season, Lawrence Butler is heating up and looking like the hitter he was in the second half of 2024, and rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz has also added another power bat to the lineup (after a slow start, he has hit .286 with six home runs in his past 11 games). What we don’t fully know yet, based on a small sample size, is how Sutter Health Park is helping. The A’s have hit for a higher average at home (.268 to .240) but have hit more home runs on the road (53 in 38 games compared to 39 in 36 games at home).
One weakness: JJ Bleday had a solid 2024 season, with 20 home runs and a 120 OPS+ in 159 games, but struggled out of the gate in 2025, earning a short demotion to Triple-A. Rookie Denzel Clarke replaced him, and though he has been a defensive wunderkind, he has been overmatched at the plate, hitting .209 with 34 strikeouts and one walk. Overall, the A’s rank 29th in the majors in OPS from their center fielders, ahead of only the Guardians.
Player who makes it all click: Wilson has been amazing, showcasing rare bat-to-ball skills with only 18 strikeouts in 289 plate appearances. The big surprise has been the 23 extra-base hits, including eight home runs, after going homerless in 92 at-bats during last season’s call-up. He has also been drawing a few more walks after beginning the season without one in his first 22 games, so his OBP is over .400. Now that he appears entrenched in the No. 2 spot, he’s going to give the middle of the order a lot of RBI opportunities. — Schoenfield
Why it’s so fearsome: In the Cardinals’ case, the fear factor is probably pointed in the wrong direction — as in their own fear of regression. I suspect their ranking is more a product of what they’ve done than what they are likely to do going forward. Ultimately, a team like the Braves, or even the reshuffled Giants or Red Sox, might be better placed here — but you never know. It’s a lineup with batting average and baserunning as the standout traits. The average part of it can be a house of cards — no pun intended — but the underlying expected stats backstop St. Louis’ offense so far.
One weakness: Only six clubs have a lower secondary average than the Cardinals — mostly a who’s who of the worst offenses in the majors. Secondary traits tend to be more stable than BABIP-related indicators, so St. Louis will need to continue to churn out its admirable strikeout and line-drive rates — a good formula for an average-based offense. But if the average falls, the Cardinals don’t draw enough walks or mash enough homers to make up the difference.
Player who makes it all click: Brendan Donovan‘s career year serves as an avatar for what the St. Louis offense is all about. He leads the Redbirds in runs created, and because he’s doing that while mostly playing in the middle of the infield (which boosts positional value), he’s far and away the team leader in offensive bWAR. The question is will it last? On one hand, even though Donovan has a career BABIP of .319, his 2025-to-date figure of .355 is going to be tough to maintain. On the other hand, Donovan’s 31% line drive rate is tied for second in the NL with teammate Willson Contreras. — Doolittle
Teams 11-30
11. Boston Red Sox
12. Seattle Mariners
13. San Francisco Giants
14. Atlanta Braves
15. Tampa Bay Rays
16. San Diego Padres
17. Cincinnati Reds
18. Minnesota Twins
19. Houston Astros
20. Baltimore Orioles
21. Milwaukee Brewers
22. Los Angeles Angels
23. Washington Nationals
24. Cleveland Guardians
25. Texas Rangers
26. Kansas City Royals
27. Miami Marlins
28. Chicago White Sox
29. Pittsburgh Pirates
30. Colorado Rockies
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Tom Luginbill
The Elite 11 Finals annually spotlight the nation’s top high school quarterbacks, offering a firsthand look at how the next wave of signal-callers stacks up against elite competition.
With most participants already committed, it’s a valuable window into how these prospects will fit into their future college systems and translate to the next level. Here are the top 10 committed quarterbacks attending the event later this month ranked by system fit.
ESPN 300 ranking: 8
Tennessee’s scheme is plug-and-play friendly and fits Brandon’s big arm and sneaky mobility. There’s a clear trend emerging in Knoxville when it comes to quarterback traits in terms of stature, athleticism and arm strength. Brandon checks all three boxes. He’s very similar to former Vols standout Hendon Hooker and is further along developmentally than Hooker was at Brandon’s age. Though not quite as polished as Nico Iamaleava coming out of high school, Brandon throws a great deep ball, which Tennessee coach Josh Heupel requires from all his quarterbacks. By the time he arrives on campus, it’s likely at least one quarterback currently on the Tennessee roster will have hit the transfer portal.
One week from today the @Elite11 Finals get underway ⏳
UCReport will have on-site coverage. Looking forward to seeing plenty of high-level quarterbacks and evaluating how they’ll fit in their college system.
Among those is 5-star Tennessee commit Faizon Brandon who was… pic.twitter.com/kXFh2QojIJ
– Billy Tucker (@TheUCReport) June 10, 2025
ESPN 300 ranking: N/A — three-star
Duke offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer is looking for a run-pass option quarterback with consistent accuracy and high-level production in the run game. Walker is that guy. He’s strikingly similar to Darian Mensah, the quarterback Duke brought in via the transfer portal, only Walker has a stronger arm. The Blue Devils want a dynamic runner at quarterback — something former QB Maalik Murphy wasn’t — and that’s what Walker is. A true playmaker, he also has a sky-high ceiling for development as a passer. Walker’s commitment is more evidence that the perception of Duke is shifting among top-tier recruits.
ESPN 300 ranking: 157
It’s easy to see why Arizona State’s coaching staff loves Fette considering he’s a mirror image of current quarterback Sam Leavitt. Fette is a sandlot-style riverboat gambler who thrives when the play breaks down. He looks like a pocket passer, but has the athleticism of a runner and can stress defenses with his legs. Coach Kenny Dillingham will use a lot of smoke and mirrors with shifts, motions, personnel groupings and backfield action to maximize Fette’s dynamic skill set and make him a threat both inside and outside the pocket.
ESPN 300 ranking: 6
Bell enters an ideal situation. The Longhorns don’t need to rush him, and instead can allow him to develop at his own pace. His fit is quite akin to Arch Manning‘s, and if Bell follows a similar blueprint he will get bigger, stronger and more mature over time. He already displays the tools of a high-level passer and adds value as a more capable runner than Quinn Ewers did in Steve Sarkisian’s system. Bell is a naturally gifted passer with a long track record of performance against elite competition, so he is ready to make the jump.
ESPN 300 ranking: N/A — three-star
Regardless of Carson Beck‘s production this fall, Coleman will be able to deliver the dynamism that Miami showcased with Cam Ward at the helm, which will make the Hurricanes much more difficult to defend. Coleman is the type of player Miami will prefer at quarterback in the long run. He has moxie, a gunslinger’s mentality and a live arm capable of making off-platform plays look routine. Remind you of anyone?
ESPN 300 ranking: 155
It’s easy to see shades of former Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams when watching Jonas Williams. He’s a naturally creative and improvisational quarterback. The play is never over, sometimes to a fault, but often to devastating effect. Williams can move the launch point and change arm angles, especially when asked to get the ball out quickly on screens and underneath throws. He thrives in chaos and can run the play-action offense Lincoln Riley loves to employ.
ESPN 300 ranking: 16
Henderson is another signal-caller with similarities to Darian Mensah, who played for current Houston coach Willie Fritz at Tulane. Landing Henderson was a huge win for Fritz. Henderson is a terrific athlete who can reach 20.6 mph max speed, an elite number for a quarterback. We’re intrigued to see whether he sticks at quarterback or moves to another position. For that reason, he’s more of a developmental player who needs to get more consistent in the passing game, but he has a high ceiling regardless of position.
ESPN 300 ranking: 198
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Huhn has the kind of stature coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki love. Though not as mobile as Drew Allar, Huhn is very athletic in the pocket. He can extend plays and shows strong anticipation off play-action. Huhn loves to play under center, which is a valuable trait in a Penn State offense that blends shotgun and traditional looks. With a scheme that frequently shifts the launch point through varied play-action concepts, Huhn’s footwork and functional mobility make him a natural fit.
ESPN 300 ranking: N/A — three-star
It’s still unclear exactly what North Carolina’s offense will look like under Bill Belichick, but recent quarterback additions offer a clue. The Tar Heels brought in dual-threat options in South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez and 2025 commit Bryce Baker. Neither is a traditional pocket passer, nor is Burgess. He’s a great get for North Carolina with his athleticism, live arm, quick release and developmental upside. He also won’t be thrust into action immediately. Once the staff understands his strengths, he’s the kind of player it can build a system around. Though not as tall, he’s reminiscent of NC State’s CJ Bailey.
ESPN 300 ranking: N/A — three-star
Cherry is the prototypical athletic pocket passer for Jeff Brohm’s system. He’s decisive, releases the ball quickly and anticipates plays well. Combine that with Brohm’s tried-and-true scheme, and it’s easy to see why Louisville is a destination for quarterbacks such as Cherry who are looking to up their game. He is similar to Cardinals transfer quarterback Miller Moss in both skill and style. Cherry thrives in quick-game concepts, excels in the intermediate passing attack and is highly effective off deep play-action. Louisville is attractive for Cherry because it always layers good skill players around its quarterback.
Will Tuesday night’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers be the final game of the 2024-25 season? Or will there be one more on Friday?
The Panthers lead 3-2 in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final ahead of Game 6 (8 p.m. ET, TNT/Max). If they win, they skate the Cup on home ice. If the Oilers win, Game 7 is back in Edmonton.
Here are notes on the matchup from ESPN Research, as well as betting intel from ESPN BET:
More from Game 5: Recap | Grades
Matchup notes
Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers
Game 6 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT/Max
With a 3-2 lead ahead of Game 6 on home ice, the Panthers are now -400 favorites to win the Cup and the Oilers are +300; those numbers are adjusted from prior to Game 5, when both clubs were -110. As for the Conn Smythe Trophy, Sam Bennett remains the leader, but his odds have shifted from +150 to -190. Brad Marchand (+300), Connor McDavid (+700) and Leon Draisaitl (+700) round out the top four.
The Panthers are seeking to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions by beating the same team since the Montreal Canadiens did so against the Boston Bruins in 1977 and 1978 — for the Habs, those were titles No. 2 and 3 of four straight earned between 1976 and 1979. A Panthers win would be the fourth Stanley Cup for a team based in the state of Florida this decade (the Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 and 2021).
The Oilers are facing elimination for the first time in the 2025 playoffs. Last year, they were 5-1 when facing elimination — including three wins in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final after falling behind 3-0. Road teams facing elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final have gone 6-6 in the past 12 occurrences.
Marchand is having a superb Stanley Cup Final, scoring six goals thus far. That marks the most goals in a Cup Final since Esa Tikkanen (1988, also six). Marchand is the first player to score five or more goals with multiple teams in a Cup Final, and his five road goals in this series are the most in a single Cup Final since Jack Adams had six for the Vancouver Millionaires in 1922. With multiple multigoal games in the Cup Final, Marchand joins Jeff Friesen (New Jersey Devils, 2003) and Max Talbot (2009, Pittsburgh Penguins) as the only players to pull off that feat in the past 30 years.
Teammate Sam Bennett is also entering historic territory. With a goal in Edmonton in Game 5, he became the fifth player in NHL history with a streak of six straight road games with a goal. He is also the fourth active NHL player to score 15 goals in a single postseason, joining Zach Hyman (16, 2024), Alex Ovechkin (15, 2018) and Sidney Crosby (15, 2009).
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky tied the NHL record for most road wins in a single postseason (10). The other five goalies tied atop the list are: Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues, 2019), Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals, 2018), Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings, 2012), Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames, 2004), Martin Brodeur (Devils, 2000 and 1995).
With three goals in this series, Edmonton’s Corey Perry tied Mark Recchi (Bruins, 2011) and Igor Larionov (Detroit Red Wings, 2002) for the most goals by a player age 40 or older in a single Cup Final.
McDavid scored a point in every home game he played since the 4 Nations Face-Off break — a run of 17 straight games, with 36 points in that span. He reached 150 playoff points in 95 games, the third-fastest player in NHL history to reach that benchmark, behind Wayne Gretzky (68 games played) and Mario Lemieux (86).
With one more game-winning goal this series, Draisaitl would become just the third player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) — and first since 1977 — to have three game winners in a single Stanley Cup Final. The previous players to do so are Jacques Lemaire (1977) and Jean Beliveau (1965 and 1960), both of whom accomplished the feat for the Canadiens.
0:47
Oilers coach: We’ve overcome difficult situations before
Kris Knoblauch keeps faith in his Oilers as he reflects on losing Game 5 in Edmonton.
Scoring leaders
GP: 22 | G: 15 | A: 7
GP: 21 | G: 11 | A: 22
Best bets for Game 6
Evander Kane over 4.5 total hits (+107): The Oilers need to be more physical if they hope to have a legitimate shot at pushing this series to a Game 7. Saturday’s team total of 25 hits, including only a pair from Kane, isn’t going to cut it. An aggressive difference-maker when he’s at his best at nearing, but not crossing, the line as he has too often this series, the winger will be one to watch from the get-go Tuesday. Notably, he registered 17 total hits through both overtime games to open this series in Edmonton. Win or lose, Kane is going to serve as a factor. Hopefully for the Oilers, not by earning himself time in the penalty box.
Stuart Skinner under 25.5 total saves (-120): If Skinner — presuming coach Kris Knoblauch goes with his No. 1 netminder to start Game 6 — struggles, or the rest of the Oilers fail to perform well enough out front, he won’t last long enough in the crease to make 26 saves before all is said and done. The leash will be short in this must-win contest. Or perhaps Edmonton’s team defense rises to the occasion and prevents more scoring chances in support of their starting goaltender, as it did in earlier rounds versus Dallas and Vegas.
Connor McDavid first period anytime goal-scorer (+600): After Leon Draisaitl scored the opener in Game 1, the Panthers are perfect in four straight games at catching the back of the net first, outscoring Edmonton 11-4 altogether in the initial period. The Oilers understand reversing that trend would go a long way in helping them survive, particularly by forcing Florida to sway from their stifling defensive play. Who better to look to than McDavid, who finally found the back of the net this series in Saturday’s losing effort? The sport’s best player needs to shoot more, and he knows it. He’ll be revved right up to make a statement, early. — Victoria Matiash
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