Appalachian State quarterback Mason McHugh entering the Transfer Portal

Appalachian State Mountaineers quarterback Mason McHugh is entering the Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Mason McHugh played high school football at IMG Academy (Florida), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 2,128 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Despite playing his high school football in Florida, McHugh is originally from Idaho and often trained there or in Southern California, where he worked with Jordan Palmer.

In his one season at Appalachian State, the Mountaineers went 9-5, winning the Cure Bowl but losing the Sun Belt Championship Game against Troy. Over the course of the season, Appalachian State was 26th in the country in scoring offense, with 33.2 points scored per game. However, McHugh did not see the field for the Mountaineers and took a redshirt during his freshman season.

Now, Mason McHugh is getting ready to move on to a new team. That new team will get a talented young quarterback who still has four seasons of eligibility to play in college.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Appalachian State and the Transfer Portal

The Transfer Portal is officially open for the Spring window. With that, players are entering it from around the country. That’s no different at Appalachian State.

As of now, 13 Appalachian State players have entered the Transfer Portal looking for a new team. That includes Mason McHugh as the most recent entrant. On the other side of the coin, the Mountaineers have added eight players from the portal. Five of those players are coming from power conferences. That includes a quarterback from Texas, Charles Wright.

One key challenge for the Appalachian State coaching staff is going to be getting the team to 85 scholarship players. With incoming freshmen and incoming transfers, the team can’t have more than 85 players on scholarship. However, if too many players leave, then the team could be below 85 scholarships and have depth issues. So, balancing the team’s roster size is important.

The Transfer Portal is going to be open for 15 days for players to enter. However, players can still commit to a new team from the portal outside of that window.