I would not like Coastal Carolina or Conway or Myrtle Beach either! But I think Boone/App State is charming. It’s a small town, but really vibrant. Good food. Great football. Not Charleston, though. And no beach, but beautiful mountains. Kind of a smaller Clemson with bigger mountains. This is worth 1 minute of your time and shows the kind of football spirit they have. (They also beat #6 Texas A&M last year. And ESPN has been to Boone for GameDay.)
I would definitely keep CoC on the list if he liked it that much and just keep that door open. He may fall in love with another school or if you go back to CoC on an admitted students day or for a basketball game he might find that what it offers is perfect for him.