BOONE, N.C. — App State Football begins the 2022 season with a Sept. 3 home opener against North Carolina.
Eighteen total players who started at least one game in 2021 return from a team that enjoyed a 10-win regular season and captured a Sun Belt East Division title during
Shawn Clark's second full season as head coach.
In previewing the season, here's a closer look at App State's quarterbacks:
QUARTERBACKS:
Sixth-year redshirt senior
Chase Brice brings plenty of experience to a quarterback room with lots of new faces.
Kevin Barbay, the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, joined the staff in February, during the middle of spring practice. He coached previously at Central Michigan.
"He's very easy to talk to, is personable and will joke with you," Brice said. "He's been working hard this summer, and I've got to go eat with him, spend time with his family, and he's fitting right in here."
Last season was the first year in the program for both Brice and
DC Tabscott, who is now a redshirt freshman. True freshman
Ryan Burger arrived earlier this year as an early enrollee from Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Texas State transfer
Brady McBride joined the program this summer.
Last season, Brice set App State's single-season record for passing yards with a league-leading 3,337 to go along with season totals of 27 touchdown passes and a 62.1 completion percentage. Four receivers who signed with NFL teams after the 2022 NFL draft (
Thomas Hennigan,
Corey Sutton,
Malik Williams,
Jalen Virgil) accounted for 2,772 of those yards and 21 of those touchdowns, but Brice has spent considerable time this offseason developing more chemistry with App State's returning receivers (guys like
Christian Wells,
Christan Horn,
Dashaun Davis) and creating connections with the newcomers in that group.
"I'm just excited for them to get their opportunity," said Brice, who has been named a team captain for 2022. "Hennigan and Corey and Malik and Virgil, they're stoked for them. I talk to Thomas almost every day, and he's always like, 'How are the guys. How are they doing? How's C-Horn? How's C-Dub?' "
"I'm like, 'They're doing OK, Thomas. Don't worry,' " Brice added with a laugh. "I'm excited to see their hard work and practice now pay off, with some in their third and fourth years."
Identifying a capable backup or capable backups has been an important need this offseason, given the departure of
Jacob Huesman, who was a second-string quarterback to Brice or Zac Thomas from 2018-21.
McBride and Burger have both enjoyed success in leading game-caliber offensive groupings, whether it's through the air or with the athleticism and speed they both possess.
In his final two seasons at Texas State, McBride started in 15 of his 16 game appearances while totaling 3,432 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. Since enrolling in January, the 6-foot-3 Burger has picked up Barbay's version of the App State offense quickly for such a young player.
Tabscott now has a year and a half under his belt in Boone, and walk-on quarterbacks such as
David Hernandez and
Connor Barry have been valuable assets in practice.
