Chase Brice: A Backup With a Legacy

Chase Brice played the backup role to Trevor Lawrence for two seasons at Clemson, and while he's entered the transfer portal, he hopes he's leaving behind a legacy rarely found in a reserve role.

The saying in college football is that the most popular player on campus is the second-string quarterback.

Generally, that’s said when the starter isn’t exactly playing up to par and fans clamor for the next best thing: his backup.

That’s not been the case at Clemson in redshirt sophomore Chase Brice’s three years with the program.

There’s always been a starter the Tiger faithful could get fully behind, whether it was local product Kelly Bryant or five-star prospect Trevor Lawrence.

The latter helped lead Clemson win a national title a year ago, was instrumental in winning 29 consecutive games and got the Tigers back to the College Football Playoff and national title game this past season.

Meanwhile, Brice played the reserve role for two years, never starting a game in his career. After announcing Thursday he was entering the transfer portal, though, he leaves as a fan favorite.

“I think the Clemson family likes me a little bit,” Brice said Jan. 11 during the national championship game media day. “I appreciate them so much. They come out every game, away, home game, and they’re cheering. They’re pretty awesome.”

Much of that is tied to what Brice did in 2018. Clemson may have never gotten to the CFP or championship game in Santa Clara, where they Alabama 44-16, without Brice, who led the Tigers to a come-from-behind win over Syracuse in the regular season.

On Clemson’s next-to-last drive of the first half of that 2018 home contest against the Orange, Lawrence was knocked out of the game with an injury. Brice came in and faced a 16-7 deficit at halftime.

The Tigers went to the ground game in the second half and climbed back into it. However, Clemson faced a fourth-and-6 at its own 48 with under three minutes to play and down 23-20.

Brice calmly dropped back and threw a 20-yard strike to Tee Higgins to keep alive the drive, which was ended with a two-yard TD run by Travis Etienne to beat Syracuse 27-23. The Tigers remained undefeated and didn't come close to losing another game.

“My goal is to be the best backup in the country,” Brice said after a game in 2019. “I want to be that reliable to our staff. If something happens, they’re not second guessing. They can throw me right in and we can run with the same plays that we’ve been repping in practice.”

That’s just a couple of the reasons Brice, who threw for 1,023 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons, will be beloved, despite leaving the team before his eligibility runs out. The Loganville, Georgia, native stayed committed, worked hard and never made anything about himself.

He did all that knowing the kind of talent that was in that QB room and how it would affect his chances of becoming a starter. 

“People looked at me, thought I was crazy committing, coming in with No. 1 quarterback, another top quarterback,” Brice said. “Zerrick (Cooper) was there, and you’ve got Kelly. It’s been a fun ride these past three years and they’re great quarterbacks. I developed great relationships with them.”

Now, Brice leaves with a chance to become a starter for two seasons. He graduates in May in just three years. He’ll be eligible right away as a grad transfer, making him one of the most appealing QBs on the transfer market.

Where he ends up is just speculation at this point. Brice hasn’t given anything away yet. He did say he was recruited heavily by Michigan State, Baylor and Ole Miss during his days at Grayson High School. The latter two schools have new head coaches. Wake Forest and Vanderbilt were also in on Brice when he was a prep prospect.

Georgia, the team he grew up rooting for as a kid, took transfer Jamie Newman, who played at Wake Forest, a couple of weeks ago, so it’s unclear if the Bulldogs are still looking to add a signal caller.

Wherever he ends up, Brice is capable of impacting a program. He did that at Clemson, giving coach Dabo Swinney confidence if/when something happened to his starting QB.

“I think we’ve got the two best quarterbacks in this league,” Swinney said. “I’ve got great comfort (with Brice) ... really talented player.”

Since Brice made his announcement, he’s received tons of support from both his Clemson teammates and Tiger fans. It speaks to the kind of person, not just quarterback, that Brice has become.

While it might be rare for a backup to have a legacy, Brice hopes he leaves “one where people can look back at my time here and say, ‘Wow that guy, he was a part of the Clemson family. He really, truly embraced what it means to be a Clemson Tiger on and off the field.'

“That’s (the legacy) I hope I leave,” Brice said