Clemson Football: Who is Tigers’ backup quarterback Chase Brice?
Clemson football fans need to get to know Chase Brice. No longer buried on the depth chart, the Tigers’ quarterback is an injury away from a lot more playing time.
Fourth down and six yards to go. Clemson lines up four-wide (left to right: Justyn Ross, Hunter Renfrow, Milan Richard, and Tee Higgins) with Adam Choice, their best blocking back, and the man who only nine days ago served as the third-string quarterback for the Tigers, Chase Brice at quarterback.
The option to run was thrown out the window one play earlier as offensive guard Gage Cervenka made a costly mental error and drew a false start penalty and backed Clemson up five yards. Fans in Death Valley and all around the nation held their breath as Don Munson talks about Senior wideout Hunter Renfrow’s heroics in the final seconds of the 2016 National Championship and how he could very well be the deciding factor. Brice snaps the ball and Renfrow goes across the field on a slant, but the redshirt-freshman is thinking bigger.
Sophomore wideout Higgins fakes towards the inside and heads upfield going toward the sideline. Brice sees the coverage head towards midfield and tosses it up for Tee Higgins. Earlier in the game, the backup has some accuracy problems throwing towards the sideline… But not this time. Brice lands the ball in between two defensive backs right where Higgins wants it for a 20-yard gain, and most importantly a first down.
The very next play, Brice runs a read option and decides that he’s going to go for it himself. Almost every defensive player for the Orange takes the bait and goes after sophomore back Travis Etienne who averaged double-digit yards per carry at one point during this contest. Brice takes off and goes for 17 yards on his own for another first down. Two plays later, Travis Etienne found himself in the end zone for the third time that game and capped off what would ultimately be the game-winning drive.
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The second Kelly Bryant announced his transfer, many Clemson fans feared the worst and saw those very fears come to life when Syracuse’s Evan Foster hit starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence high with 4:56 left to go in the first half. Chase Brice had his struggle early but managed to make the plays on their final drive in Death Valley to give the Tigers that sweet taste of victory. So know that the redshirt sophomore has made his first appearance for Clemson as their backup quarterback, here are five facts about the other kid from Georgia.