Duke's 3-Way Quarterback Battle, Part 4 of 4: Chase Brice--The Big Name
In a four-part series, we look at the candidates for Duke’s starting quarterback job.
Chase Brice is in a tough spot.
A national champion at Clemson, where he backed up Trevor Lawrence for two seasons before graduating and transferring to Duke, Brice is clearly the biggest name in the battle, and most outside observers expect him to win the job.
While he has the most playing experience, he’s the new guy, learning a new system and getting to know his teammates. And the ones helping him up the learning curve are the ones he’s trying to beat out for the job.
“Coming from Clemson, I had a great relationship with all the guys there. I wanted to continue that here,” he said. “When you all get along, you teach other, but you’re teaching yourself the same way. Whenever Chris and Gunnar, or even Gavin (Spurrier, a walk-on sophomore) and the guys are helping me with things, they’re reteaching themselves and helping themselves out. That’s a great thing. I know I’ve helped with the experiences I’ve gone through, whether it’s quick game or whether it’s knowing when you’re hot—things to keep an eye out for. We’ve held each other accountable with footwork, keeping your elbow up ,when you sail a ball. The guys have been great. We’re helping each other out, grinding, really competing out here. It’s been a blast.”
Brice had the best scrimmage of the three, hitting 6-of-9 for 151 yards and a 53-yard touchdown to Eli Pancol.
“It’s been great competition,” he said. “We’ve all encouraged each other and helped each other whenever we see fit and need to speak up. I’ve leaned on them for questions. I wouldn’t say its (keeping track of) every throw and every completion or every drop. I think part of the game is not being perfect. You’re not going to be perfect. I learned that at an early age. So I just go out there and try to play fast. We’re all just trying to play fast, be decisive and confident in our decision-making. If we mess up we mess up, go back and look at film. What we don’t want to do is make the same mistake. The last couple weeks, I’ve seen progress in all of us.”
Despite all the teamwork, though, there can only be one starter. And like the other two, Brice thinks he’s the man for the job.
“I’m taking that experience and using it to my advantage as I see fit,” he said, “and what I need to do to take the job and earn it.”
Get caught up on the four-part series here:
Part 1: Overview
Part 2: The early leader—Chris Katrenick
Part 3: Back from injury—Gunnar Holmberg
