By Joey Jones for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — USFL teams selected two App State Football alums in the first two rounds of the league’s 2023 draft on Tuesday, as the Houston Gamblers used the No. 3 overall pick on quarterback Chase Brice and the Philadelphia Stars took offensive tackle Anderson Hardy in the second round with the 13th overall pick.
In just two years at App State, Brice put up some of the best career totals in program history, ranking No. 1 in passing yards per game (240.7), No. 5 in touchdown passes (54) and No. 6 in passing yards (6,258).
Brice threw 27 touchdown passes (No. 1 in the Sun Belt) and just six interceptions during a 2022 season in which he passed for 2,921 yards (243.4 per game) and completed 62.8 percent of his attempts.
Hardy had the third-best overall blocking grade and fourth-best run-blocking grade among starting offensive tackles in the Sun Belt, according to PFF. Protecting Brice’s blind side, Hardy allowed just two quarterback sacks while totaling 849 snaps, including 432 pass-blocking snaps.
He started the final 28 games of his App State career and was named a first-team All-Sun Belt selection.
