Chase Brice entered Clemson in the summer of 2017 as a raw quarterback talent with hopes of one day developing and leading the Clemson football team. At that point the quarterback room was stocked with 4- and 5-star talent but when others transferred Brice stayed the course and worked his way up the depth chart.

Clemson proved to be valuable to Brice. The friendships and memories formed in this developmental stage of his career will never fade. But the life of a backup quarterback is difficult and now he is ready to take his shot at a starting spot elsewhere.

Last Thursday, the Tigers’ backup quarterback for the last two years announced his intentions of transferring, which will take place after he graduates from Clemson in May. Because he will be a graduate transfer, Brice will still have two years of eligibility. He redshirted his freshman season at Clemson.

Brice told The Clemson Insider, he remembers the difficult feeling of beginning his time as a Tiger on the scout team and how he learned a lot from his time preparing the Clemson defense.

“I knew I probably wouldn’t play and that I would get redshirted with the group we had so I wanted to learn as much as I could,” Brice said. “Then I got put on scout team and it was very hard, but I learned a lot about myself and about defense from Coach [Brent] Venables.”

When Brice got the opportunity to rep on the offensive side of the ball later in the season he jumped at the opportunity. He recalled leaving practice and chewing through the playbook late into the night with his roommate and friend, walk-on wide receiver Will Brown.

His studying paid off into his redshirt freshman season when he competed well in the spring and found himself third on the depth chart behind Kelly Bryant and newcomer Trevor Lawrence. That’s when Brice settled in and began to exude the confidence which marks Brice as a competitor.

“I had to stay with it when I realized I was third and I’ve always had confidence as a player and a teammate,” Brice said. “I want my confidence to feed into my teammates and I think I did a good job of that and my focus really helped me because it was a pretty tough fall camp and leading into the first four games.”

Brice earned playing time at the beginning of the 2018 season but the signature game of his time at Clemson came when the Tigers fell behind early to Syracuse, Trevor Lawrence left the game due to injury and Brice was called on to essentially save the season.

Brice led Clemson back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and on fourth-and-six on the final drive with the game on the line completed a 20-yard pass to Tee Higgins that kept the championship run alive. But for Brice his confidence developed after that game.

“During the Syracuse game I didn’t have time to get nervous I just had to roll and go back to my base fundamentals,” Brice said. “I probably started to feel it against Florida State when I ran out there and it felt like practice.”

Now with another year of experience Brice looks to transfer and enjoy himself as a starting quarterback at a new destination. But Clemson will always hold a special place in his heart and formed the foundation for his new adventure.

“This place is special, my friend group and the people I know, everywhere you go there are great people. People talk about that feeling but you cannot explain it until you’ve been on campus,” Brice said.

This decision proved difficult for the soon to be Clemson graduate and he will miss even the most difficult parts of playing in the Clemson football program like 6 a.m. workouts and fall camp at Jervey Meadows. Those experiences grew Brice as a football player and as a man while preparing him to lead a program.

“I can do this now after being under great leadership for three years. I’ve grown and developed and I feel like I can go take this,” Brice said.

Brice has entered the transfer portal and does not have any visits scheduled at this time, but he is evaluating teams based on depth chart and interest until the second signing day period concludes on Feb. 5.

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