Austin Herink

In 2015, he started all 11 games at quarterback for the Bucs and was named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll. He led the team in completions (116), passing yards (1,261), passing touchdowns (6) and completion percentage (60.4). He also rushed for 155 yards and five touchdowns. He earned two Bowman Jewelers Offensive Player of the Week honors (Maryville and Kentucky Wesleyan). He totaled a season-high 261 passing yards against Emory and Henry (Sept. 26). He rushed for a season-best 134 yards in the win over Kentucky Wesleyan (Nov. 21), as well as rushing for two touchdowns and threw for three scores with 220 passing yards against the Panthers. In that game, he completed 14 of his 17 passes vs. KWC. He would also go 10-of-13 at Charleston Southern (Sept. 17) and 11-for-15 vs. Maryville (Sept. 10). He threw and rushed for one touchdown in the win over Warner (Oct. 31).[2]

In 2016, Herink was named to SoCon All-Academic Team and SoCon Honor Roll. He would be named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week following ETSU’s win over Western Carolina at Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 17) He would once again start all 11 games at quarterback for the Blue & Gold. He would pass for 1,695 yards and seven touchdowns with a completion percentage of .596 (161-for-270) and rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns. He Ranked seventh in the SoCon in passing yards per game (154.1), passing efficiency (115.0) and total offense per game (163.7). He would pass for a then career-high 269 yards and three touchdowns in the Bucs’ win over Western Carolina, as well as set a career high in completions (25) at Mercer (Nov. 5). He Recorded at least one touchdown pass in the Bucs’ final four games of the season (The Citadel, Mercer, Cumberland and No. 18 Samford). He also rushed for two touchdowns in the win over West Virginia Wesleyan (Oct. 20).[2]

In the 2017 season, he was named to the SoCon Fall Academic Team and SoCon Honor Roll, as well as being named SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 27. He broke ETSU’s single-game passing record with a 434-yard game at Furman on Sept. 30 and ranked among the Bucs’ single-season leaders in pass attempts (322, 4th), completions (182, 5th), passing yards (2,213, 6th) and passing touchdowns (14, T-7th). He ranked fifth in the SoCon in total offense (201.7) and total offensive touchdowns (15). He tied a career-high with three touchdown passes in the season-opening win against Limestone and Furman, and set a new single-game program record by completing 15 straight passes to start against Limestone. The longest pass of his career would also occur against Furman with a 78-yard pass.

Herink would define his career in 2018, as he would lead East Tennessee State to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1996 and to their first-ever share of the SoCon championship. He was once again named to the SoCon Honor Roll and SoCon Fall Academic Team. He concluded the season with 1,825 passing yards with six touchdowns in 11 games played (eight starts). Two of his six touchdown passes were a season-high 54 yards (vs. Furman (Sept. 22) and Chattanooga (Sept. 29)). Capped off the year with a .591 (156-of-264) completion percentage, completing a season-high 28 passes and 294 yards against Western Carolina (Oct. 27). He tallied 174 yards on the ground in 74 attempts with four touchdowns, and would rank fifth in the SoCon in total offense with 1,999 yards. He finished his career ranked second in program history in pass attempts (1,048), completions (615) and completion percentage (.587), while ranking third in yards (6,994) and fifth in touchdowns (33).[2]