Appalachian State football head coach Shawn Clark announced that red-shirt freshman Ryan Burger will be the starting quarterback against FCS Gardner-Webb at home this weekend.
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Burger and junior Joey Aguilar were the candidates up for the starting signal-caller spot. Aguilar is a junior college transfer who threw for nearly 3,000 yards in two college seasons, and more than than 5,000 yards in high school.
Although Burger won the starting position for the first game, it doesn't mean he will start in all games. According to Patrick McCormack with the Watauga Democrat, Clark said, "That's a competition we didn't take lightly — both quarterbacks can lead our offense, move us down the field, and take care of the football. We felt that over the last four or five days, Ryan has really taken a big step, so he'll be our starting quarterback against Gardner-Webb."
Clark is confident in the quarterback group as a whole. It seems that he plans to assess the starting quarterback decisions on a weekly basis. Clark added, "You have to earn your way to be a starter, and that's every week — the depth chart moves on a daily basis. That's great for competition. You can't have an off day here at App right now — no one's safe, even the head coach. We've got to make sure we compete on a weekly basis and put a great product on the football field."
Burger came from Myrtle Beach High School and was rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports.com, and a two-star by our partners at Rivals.com. As a junior, he passed for 2,217 yards with 23 touchdowns. This allowed MBHS a 7-2 record and a berth in the SCHSL 4-A lower state final. As a senior, he threw for more than 2,300 yards and 32 TDs but only three INTs.
Last season, Burger was a true freshman. In his one appearance before redshirting, he completed four of six passes for 40 yards. He also rushed twice for 23 yards in that game against FCS Robert Morris..
The excitement surrounding Burger has been building all summer. He even has his own burger at the local restaurant, The Cardinal, in Boone, NC dubbed "The Ryan Burger."
Fans can watch Burger start against Gardner-Webb on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
