DeAndre Presley has good memories of playing at Finley Stadium.
In 2008, during Appalachian State’s 49-7 thumping of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Presley replaced Armanti Edwards at quarterback in the third quarter and ran for 101 yards on 12 carries and threw a 38-yard touchdown pass.
That game was already well in hand when Presley took the field. By halftime Edwards, who won the first of his two Walter Payton Awards that season, had rushed for 152 yards and thrown for 176 and two touchdowns.
Saturday, Presley will return to Finley to lead the third-ranked Mountaineers against the Mocs. Edwards now is in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, which means Presley has the task of taking over for one of the most accomplished players in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision history.
“For sure there are big shoes to fill, but any quarterback coming in here’s going to have big shoes to fill,” said Presley, a junior who beat out redshirt freshman Jamal Jackson for the starting job. “The main thing I continue to tell myself and the coaching staff continues to tell me is be DeAndre Presley – take care of the football and take it one play at a time.”