Last year, the Appalachian State Mountaineers proved that they were, in fact, mortal.
After eight straight seasons of success in the Sun Belt Conference, App State fell short of bowl eligibility in 2022 and finished without a winning record (6-6) for the first time since moving up to Division I.
Despite a celebrated road win over Texas A&M early in the season that brought ESPN’s “College GameDay” to Boone for the first time, coach Shawn Clark’s team fizzled out after what initially appeared to be business as usual for the Sun Belt stalwarts.
Clark has a chance now to prove that last season’s middle-of-the-road results were an anomaly and not a growing trend of where the Mountaineers are headed.
“It’s been a great offseason. … I’m excited for this football team,” Clark said at the program’s media day on Aug. 3. “It’s good to be back. Last week, it really hit me that football season is here.”
The Mountaineers are hoping to rebound with an identity centered around a strong offensive line and a heralded running game led by running back Nate Noel, who averaged 6 yards per carry last season with six touchdowns.
“We’re very deep in the running back room, and you have to be in our style of offense because we are going to run the football,” Clark said. “You have to run the football to win championships, and it protects your defense at times. In Nate Noel, I think we have one of the most underrated players in our conference.”
Local talents Ahmani Marshall (from Winston-Salem) and Anderson Castle (from Watauga) provide valuable backfield depth.
The Mountaineers also need to replace Chase Brice, who started at quarterback the past two seasons after transferring from Duke. Redshirt freshman Ryan Burger is a top contender for the job while another Duke transfer, Joey Aguilar, is also making a run for the job.
During his media day interview, Clark appeared confident that the three-way quarterback competition — which also includes true freshman Mason McHugh — will ultimately produce a fit for the team’s offense.
“We have three quarterbacks who can run our system and can play winning football: Ryan Burger, Joey Aguilar and Mason McHugh,” Clark said. “Each one brings something different to the table, and they’re all more mobile than we’ve been in the last two years. Instead of going five yards, they might go 50 yards running the football, so we might see more of that in our offense. I really like where we’re at with our quarterback room.”
Clark has alluded that he sees the 2023 season as a reset — rather than a rebuild or restart — for the program, especially with two new, familiar coordinators joining the fold.
In January, App State hired Frank Ponce to replace Kevin Barbay as offensive coordinator and then hired Scot Sloan to fill the vacant defensive coordinator position left by Dale Jones.
Both Ponce and Sloan previously coached in Boone.
“When you have success at a program like App, then you’re gonna lose coaches. And this is the fourth year and fourth different coordinator that we’ve had,” Clark said. “All have left for more money, not better jobs, in my opinion. But in saying that, Ponce has been here and we were both assistants here together from ’16 to ’18. We know each other and I know what he’s gonna bring to the table as far as developing quarterbacks if you really look back at it. He is the one that recruited Ryan Burger from Myrtle Beach.”
The 2023 schedule starts with nonconference games against Gardner-Webb, UNC, East Carolina and Wyoming before heading into Sun Belt East play.
App State will need to win more close games — all six of the Mountaineers’ losses were by seven points or fewer — to avoid a repeat of last year’s .500 record. Another down season could also see Clark on the hot seat after 13 losses in the past three years.
