BOONE, N.C. — Trey Elder, a four-year letterwinner at quarterback for Appalachian State University from 2004-07, has returned to his alma mater as the football program's wide receivers coach, head coach Jerry Moore officially announced on Wednesday.

Elder comes back to Appalachian from Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., where he served as wide receivers coach for one year. In his only season at his high-school alma mater, Elder helped lead the Rebels to a 13-2 record and appearance in the South Carolina 4A Division I state championship game. Under Elder's tutelage, Byrnes' receivers caught 284 passes for 4,655 yards and 60 touchdowns in '09.

“Having someone like Trey back as a coach is a huge boost for our program,” Moore said. “His familiarity with Appalachian and our coaches and players, as well as his football knowledge, coaching instincts and leadership abilities will make him a huge asset for our program.”

As a quarterback at ASU from 2004-07, Elder spent much of his career backing up the two greatest signal-callers in school history — Richie Williams and Armanti Edwards. However, he excelled when given the opportunity, posting a 7-1 career record as a starter. He helped lead the Mountaineers to their third-straight national championship by going 4-0 as a starter in 2007 and played an integral part in the Apps' first national title in 2005, when he replaced an injured Williams early in the national semifinals versus Furman and led Appalachian to a 29-23 come-from-behind victory.

Elder began his coaching career as a student assistant at ASU in 2008. He replaces former Appalachian wide receivers coach Lance Taylor, who accepted a position with the NFL's New York Jets during the offseason.

The Duncan, S.C. native was South Carolina's Mr. Football as a senior at Byrnes in 2003. He will have the rare opportunity to coach his brother, Blake, who is a starting senior wide receiver for the Mountaineers.