After a long battle with injuries, Boise State QB Chase Cord has called it a career
Pinned to the top of Boise State quarterback Chase Cord’s Twitter feed are two photos of the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
In one, a group of Troy defenders watch from the background as he sprints toward the end zone, the ball cradled tightly in his right arm. In the other, he’s in the end zone roaring in celebration.
Cord scored the last touchdown of his college career Nov. 19, 2019, in the Broncos’ overtime win against Wyoming.
After battling injuries for the last several years, Cord decided to medically retire, a Boise State spokesperson told the Idaho Statesman on Monday afternoon.
“It was hard to show up every day and be physically and mentally sharp,” Cord said Tuesday. “The guys were looking to me to lead them, to bring them energy. It got hard to show up and give that to them day in and day out because of the physical and mental challenges I was facing.”
Cord said he decided to retire during camp last fall when he realized some of his passes didn’t have the zip they used to. He didn’t play a down last season as he continued to rehab from injuries suffered in 2019 and multiple offseason surgeries.
Instead, he was more of a student assistant coach and a mentor to fellow quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Jack Sears. He put together the weekly quarterback tests and signal sheets and helped with walk throughs before games.
“Seeing the game through a different lens and being able to help out the younger guys was neat to say the least,” he said. “I learned a lot and it was definitely a cool experience I can use if I choose to go the coaching route.”
Cord will graduate in May with an undergraduate degree in communications, and he plans to move back to Arizona to be near his family. He’s interested getting into coaching or maybe sports broadcasting, and he plans to leave the door open if the opportunity to play out the rest of his eligibility does present itself in the future.
But for now, he said persistent knee pain and the knowledge of what it will take to get his body ready to play again will keep him on the sideline.
“It was a tough decision, but it got harder and harder to perform the way I wanted to, and ultimately, I had to consider my future,” Cord said. “I didn’t fill out the stat sheet like a lot of guys in college, but hopefully I made an impact off the field that outlives the stats on the field.”
Cord was only active for one game last fall — the Broncos’ regular-season finale at Wyoming — and that was only because Sears and freshman quarterbacks Cade Fennegan and Andy Peters were out because of injuries or COVID-19.
He hasn’t played in a game since the Broncos’ win over Wyoming in 2019, and he limped away from that game with a shoulder injured suffered the week before, a fractured throwing hand and ankle — both of which were suffered in the overtime win over the Cowboys — and residual pain from a surgically repaired knee.
Cord took over the previous week against Hawaii after Bachmeier left the game with a hip injury. Almost as soon as he took the field, Cord suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. He didn’t get an MRI at the time and pushed through the pain to make it to the Wyoming game, even though he said he had to numb his shoulder before every practice.
“I just knew I had to show up every day and control my body language and try to show guys that I’m ready to work and go to battle for them,” Cord said. “My team was looking at me to lead them and step up, and the competitor in me made me convince myself I was good to go.”
Last January, Cord had surgeries to repair his shoulder and remove bone spurs from his ankle in the same week.
“That was honestly one of the toughest moments of my life,” Cord said. “It was as tough to deal with mentally as it was physically, and it just got harder and harder to work through the pain.”
In February, Boise State coach Andy Avalos said the redshirt junior was expected to miss spring ball for the third year in a row. He also sat out last spring while rehabbing the injuries he suffered in 2019.
The native of Peoria, Arizona, appeared in four games in 2018 before a torn ACL left him on the sideline for the rest of the season and the following spring. Cord first tore his ACL playing basketball during his junior year in high school.
He enjoyed a record-setting career at Sunrise Mountain High in Arizona. Cord was a four-year starter who racked up 9,943 passing yards and graduated with the Arizona state record for career touchdown passes with 137. He joined the Broncos as a three-star recruit in 2017.
Sunrise Mountain High School football coach Steve Decker said Cord is one of those athletes who come around about every 20 years or so.
“He was clearly blessed with athletic skill, but he’s also so humble and such a good person,” Decker said. “He’s such a team guy, and he’s going to be successful no matter what he does.”
Decker said he hopes his former quarterback does plan to get into coaching.
“He has a great mind for the game, and he understands the game as well as anybody I know,” Decker said.
Cord appeared in 12 games at Boise State and made two career starts. He ends his college career with 737 career passing yards and 10 touchdowns through the air and three more scores on the ground.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 6:15 PM.
