ASHLAND — The most highly anticipated college commitment in the history of Ashland High School athletics has been made.
Junior quarterback Nathan Bernhard announced he has committed to NCAA Division I Appalachian State University via social media Friday afternoon.
The Mountaineers and new head coach Dowell Loggains were the 14th and most recent program to make an offer to the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Bernhard. He announced that offer on his social media on April 12.
On Friday, Bernhard posted on X with an image and video through the sports media group HSLD.
The video included highlights from his time playing quarterback for the Arrows and snippets from the song “Mountain Music” by the country band Alabama — a nod to the city in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains where Appalachian State plays.
Bernhard is coming off the best junior season for any quarterback in the 118-year history of the program. He threw for 2,895 yards and 24 touchdowns, ran for another 1,221 yards and 22 touchdowns, and steered the Arrows to a program-record-tying 12-1 season.
That dominance included an Ohio Cardinal Conference title, a playoff win over traditional Ohio powerhouse Columbus DeSales and a Division II first-team All-Ohio selection.
When Bernhard begins his senior season this fall, he already will have 75 career touchdowns to his credit.
Bernhard File
Ashland quarterback Nathan Bernhard committed to Appalachian State on Friday. The junior has accounted for 7,439 yards and 75 touchdowns in his first three seasons.
Passing
Year C-A Yds TD INT
Freshman 85-130 1,267 8 4
Soph. 190-302 1,777 13 8
Junior 181-299 2,895 24 4
Career 456-731 5,939 45 16
Rushing
Year Att-Yds TD
Freshman 17-47 0
Sophomore 122-232 8
Junior 206-1,221 22
Career 335-1,500 30
With Friday’s announcement now in the books, he will be able to play his final fall at AHS with a rather large weight off his shoulders.
Bernhard has been competing under a massive, statewide microscope for a few seasons now after receiving the first of his Division I collegiate offers from Penn State in February of his freshman year.
Since that time, the Nittany Lions had been joined by Michigan, Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Duke, Louisville, Toledo, Bowling Green, James Madison, Jacksonville State, Akron, and Appalachian State.
The Mountaineers play in the 40,000-seat Kidd Brewer Stadium (known as “The Rock”) in Boone, N.C.
A member of the Sun Belt Conference, Appalachian State was known for years as one of the powerhouses in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) before moving into the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2014.
The Mountaineers won three consecutive Division I-AA national championships from 2005 through 2007, opening the latter season with what is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in the history of college football.
In that game, ASU topped fifth-ranked Michigan on the road, 34-32. It was the first time an FCS team had ever defeated a ranked FBS opponent and it catapulted the Mountaineers into the national spotlight.
Over the last decade, Appalachian State has built a reputation as one of the best programs outside of college football’s “Power Four” conferences.
The Mountaineers have 22 conference titles and won four SBC crowns in a row from 2016 through 2019. They are 7-1 in bowl games.
Earlier this month, the team played its spring game in front of 15,000 fans.
For his part, Bernhard has committed to the program after its Dec. 7 hiring of Loggains, who signed a five-year contract with the university. He takes over at ASU after a 5-6 campaign (3-5 SBC) — just the second losing season since 1993.
The 44-year-old Loggains was an assistant coach at South Carolina and his alma mater, Arkansas, after spending 17 years in the NFL. That included time as either an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach with the Tennessee Titans (2010-13), Cleveland Browns (2014), Chicago Bears (2015-17), Miami Dolphins (2018) and New York Jets (2019-20).