Wikipedia

Austin Appleby

Austin Michael Appleby (born June 4, 1993) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who was most recently an offensive analyst coach for the UAB Blazers. He played college football at Purdue University from 2012 to 2015 for coaches Danny Hope and Darrell Hazell, before graduate transferring to the University of Florida where here he played for coach Jim McElwain in 2016 and played in the Alliance of American Football in 2019. He was a consensus 3-star high school prospect as a senior.

Austin Appleby
refer to caption
Appleby with the Florida Gators in 2016
Personal information
Born: (1993-06-04) June 4, 1993 (age 31)
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:239 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school:Hoover (North Canton, Ohio)
College:Purdue (2012–2015)
Florida (2016)
Undrafted:2017
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early years

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Appleby attended Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio. While at Hoover, Appleby played three sports (baseball, basketball, and football) during his freshman and sophomore years. As a member of the varsity football team in 2009, Appleby served as a backup quarterback for the Vikings, who would go on to lose in the State Semi-Final game.

As a junior in 2010, Appleby was named the starting quarterback but eight weeks into the season, he suffered a torn ACL, ending his season.[1] Despite his injury, Appleby was invited to the ESPN RISE Elite 11 Camp in 2011, after qualifying at a regional camp at Ohio State University.[2]

Appleby was named the best in chalk talk during the camp.[3] Following his Elite 11 performance, Appleby's recruiting picked up momentum, landing his first power conference scholarship offer from Louisville.[4] Just a few days following the Louisville offer, Appleby was offered by Purdue, and Appleby made his commitment to the Boilermakers on June 29, 2011.[5]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Austin Appleby
QB 		North Canton, Ohio Hoover High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 4.9 Jun 29, 2011 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 75
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 62 (QB)   Rivals: – (QB), – (OH), – (National)  ESPN: 88 (QB), 76 (OH), 171 (Midwest)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Purdue Football Commitment List (26)". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  • "Purdue College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  • "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 7, 2014.

College career

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Purdue

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Appleby was redshirted as a true freshman in 2012. In 2013, he appeared in one game as a reserve. In 2014, Purdue had a quarterback position battle in fall practice, this time between Appleby, Danny Etling, and true freshman David Blough. Appleby pushed hard for the starting spot over the entrenched Etling, but fell just short and was named the backup on August 18.[6] Etling would lead Purdue to a 2–3 record of the first five games of the season, before Darrell Hazell turned to Appleby to start Purdue's 6th game against Illinois.[7] Appleby led Purdue to a 38–27 victory, Hazell's first Big Ten Conference victory.[8]

On August 25, 2015, head coach Darrell Hazell named Appleby the starting quarterback for the opening game of the 2015 season.[9] On September 22, 2015, it was announced that Appleby will be replaced as the starting quarterback in favor of redshirt freshman, David Blough.[10] Appleby returned to his starting role when Blough was injured during the November 21, game at Iowa. Following the conclusion of the season, Appleby was given his release to explore transfer options as a graduate student.[11]

Florida

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On January 4, 2016, Appleby announced his decision to play his final year of college football at the University of Florida as a graduate transfer.[12] Under head coach Jim McElwain, Appleby competed with Luke Del Rio for the starting quarterback position, and lost out to Del Rio. After an injury early in the season to Del Rio, Appleby started seven games for the Gators in the 2016 season. Despite finishing with a 4–3 record as a starter, Appleby helped lead Florida to an SEC East title and a berth in the 2016 SEC Championship Game. In the 2017 Outback Bowl and his last game as a Gator, Appleby passed for 222 yards in a 30–3 defeat of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Statistics

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Purdue Boilermakers
Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Yds Pct TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2012 0 0 — Redshirted
2013 1 0 0–0 5 6 68 83.3 1 0 233.5 0 0 0.0 0
2014 10 7 1–6 144 272 1,449 52.9 10 11 101.7 61 198 3.2 5
2015 5 4 1–3 119 207 1,260 57.5 8 8 113.6 56 92 1.6 4
Florida Gators
2016 9 7 4–3 127 209 1,447 60.8 10 7 128.0 41 -45 -1.1 0
Career[13] 25 18 6–12 395 694 4,224 56.9 29 26 114.3 158 245 1.6 9

Professional career

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Dallas Cowboys

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Appleby was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2017 NFL draft on May 12.[14] On June 5, he was waived and was replaced with quarterback Zac Dysert.[15][16]

Orlando Apollos

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In 2018, he signed with the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football.[17] On November 27, Appleby was selected by the Orlando Apollos in the third round of the AAF QB Draft.[18] He was a backup behind Garrett Gilbert until the league folded in April 2019.[19]

Appleby tried out for the XFL in a summer showcase on July 3, 2019,[20] but was not selected in the 2020 XFL Draft in October 2019.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

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Appleby signed a futures contract for the 2020 CFL season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on November 1, 2019.[21] He retired from playing professional football on March 18, 2020.[22]

Coaching career

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Appleby was hired by Central Michigan as a quality control coach after the AAF folded in April 2019.[20] He resigned from his position after the 2019 season, to sign with the Blue Bombers. On March 18, 2020, Appleby accepted the wide receivers assistant coach position at Missouri State University, where he remained for three years.[22] In December 2022, he accepted the wide receivers assistant coach position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

References

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  1. ^ Bill Gould (August 7, 2011). "Hard work pays off for North Canton's Austin Appleby". www.newsnet5.com. Scripps TV Station Group. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  2. ^ Todd Porter (May 31, 2011). "Hoover's Appleby is invited to elite QB camp". www.fridaynightohio.com. GateHouse Ohio. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  3. ^ Mitch Sherman (July 23, 2011). "Trio share MVP honors at Elite 11". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  4. ^ Todd Porter (June 9, 2011). "Hoover QB Austin Appleby drawing plenty of attention from college recruiters". www.fridaynightohio.com. GateHouse Ohio. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  5. ^ M Dyer (June 30, 2011). "Hoover's Austin Appleby reportedly commits to Purdue". www.ohio.com. The Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  6. ^ "Purdue picks Etling over Appleby as starting QB". www.usatoday.com. USA Today. August 18, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  7. ^ Todd Porter (October 10, 2014). "Former Hoover QB Appleby takes over at Purdue". www.cantonrep.com. Gatehouse Media, Inc. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  8. ^ Pete DiPrimio (October 4, 2014). "Appleby leads Purdue to first Big Ten win". www.news-sentinel.com. News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  9. ^ Carmin, Mike (August 26, 2015). "Austin Appleby named Purdue's starting QB". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Michael Osipoff (September 22, 2015). "David Blough takes over for Austin Appleby as Purdue's quarterback". www.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  11. ^ Mike Carmin (December 11, 2015). "Purdue's Appleby exploring transfer options". www.jconline.com. Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  12. ^ "QB Austin Appleby transfers to Florida, eligible to play immediately". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  13. ^ "Austin Appleby". www.sports-reference.com. USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  14. ^ Phillips, Rob (May 21, 2017). "Cowboys Officially Sign 13 Rookie Free Agents Leading Into Rookie Minicamp". DallasCowboys.com.
  15. ^ Phillips, Rob (June 5, 2017). "Cowboys Sign QB For Depth, Waive Undrafted Rookie Austin Appleby". DallasCowboys.com.
  16. ^ Martin, Sean (June 6, 2017). "COWBOYS Cowboys Add Journeyman QB Zac Dysert, Waive Austin Appleby". insidethestar.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  17. ^ Inabinett, Mark (October 31, 2018). "Birmingham Iron holds No. 2 choice in AAF's quarterback draft". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  18. ^ Wilson, Ryan (November 27, 2018). "Alliance of American Football QB Draft: Aaron Murray, Christian Hackenberg highlight QBs taken". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  19. ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Scalzo, Joe (July 14, 2019). "Austin Appleby heads to Central Michigan with one eye on the XFL". CantonRep.com. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "THE TEAM SIGNS FIVE PLAYERS TO FUTURES CONTRACTS". BlueBombers.com. November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Bombers place quarterback Austin Appleby on the retired list". 3downnation.com. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
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