Our strategy targets programs where Chase plays early in a passing system under a coach who develops quarterbacks. UTRGV checks every box and adds something rare: it's a brand-new program whose identity is still being written.
The short version: a first-year program went 9-3, sold out every home game, and rewarded its coach with an extension through 2030. The Valley waited decades for college football and showed up like it. This is not a struggling program looking for bodies. It's an ascending one choosing its next quarterback carefully. That's the kind of room worth competing for.
In year one, Bush took Eddie Lee Marburger, a four-year backup at UTSA with two career starts, and made him a Walter Payton Award finalist: 2,780 yards and 31 touchdowns, sixth in all of FCS. Marburger just declared for the NFL Draft.
Read that again from a QB's perspective: the system took an overlooked passer and made him a national-award finalist in one season. That is the single most important fact about this visit.
Marburger's departure to the NFL means UTRGV's record-setting QB1 chair is open. Whoever wins it inherits a sold-out stadium, a proven passing offense, and a coach with a documented one-season development story. For a 2027 quarterback, the timing is nearly perfect: the 2026 season resolves the bridge year, and the long-term answer at quarterback is exactly what this staff is shopping for right now. Chase would be recruited to be that answer, not a camp arm.
Our transfer study says quarterbacks who start and produce at the FCS level move up at the highest rate in football, and UTRGV just watched its own QB ride one great season to the NFL Draft process. The ladder isn't theory here; it's the program's first chapter.
It's a young program: year two brings a harder schedule (including the program's first FBS game, at UTSA in the Alamodome) and the roster will keep churning as it matures. The visit is where we test how the staff plans the QB room past 2026. See the questions below.
"How do you see the quarterback room in 2027, and where would Chase sit in it on day one?"
Listen for a real depth-chart answer, not a brochure answer."What did you ask Marburger to do that you'd ask Chase to do?"
Bush coached the position his whole career. His answer will be specific if the interest is real."Who works with the quarterbacks daily, and how are reps split in a bridge year?"
Staff structure tells you what a redshirt or early year actually looks like."What does the scholarship and support picture look like as the program grows?"
A program selling out stadiums should have a clear answer on resources."How does a 4.0 student get supported here with honors options, majors, and travel scheduling?"
Chase's academics are leverage; make them part of the conversation."What would you need to see from Chase's senior season to make this official?"
Gets the staff to name their bar. The fall schedule answers it on film.UTRGV is a sold-out, ascending program whose coach just proved he can turn an overlooked quarterback into a national name in one season, and the chair is open. Walk in curious, ask the six questions, and let them recruit Chase.