Lions Sign Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year

As the 2021 NAL season gets closer, the staff of the Columbus Lions, led by head coach Jason Gibson, are continuing to prepare in every way possible during one of the craziest offseason' s ever. The Lions have made moves throughout the offseason to bolster their roster in every way, from depth signings to bringing back former starters.

The Lions have made yet another move, this time adding to their quarterback room by signing a former four year starter at Nicholls State Chase Fourcade. Fourcade is the third quarterback the Lions have signed this offseason, including David Pindell and Matt Foltz last September.

The 23 year old out of Metairie, Louisiana brings a ton of experience with him to Columbus. In his four years as a starter at Nicholls State, Fourcade missed just one game due to injury. The quarterback’s durability allowed the team to lean on him as a leader and driving force of the offense the moment he arrived.

Following a successful high school career at Archbishop Rummel High School, which included two state championships, Fourcade arrived at Nicholls and made an immediate impact. He started immediately with the Colonels and threw for the fourth most passing yards in a single season for Nicholls with 2,482 yards.

His sophomore year saw much of the same, with Fourcade throwing for 2,316 yards and 14 touchdowns, along with 13 interceptions. This was a year of growth for the young quarterback and he became just the second quarterback in Nicholls State history to throw for 2,000 yards in two different seasons. During his junior year, Fourcade took a massive step forward.

Fourcade’s junior year ended up being his best year with the Colonels for a variety of reasons. He threw for 2,930 yards, a career high at the time, and 21 touchdowns while cutting his interceptions down to only eight. The third year starter also became more of a dual threat quarterback, running for 659 yards and 13 touchdowns, both career highs. His completion percentage also went up by a few percentage points to 60.8% in his third season. He earned All-Southland First Team and All-Louisiana First team honors for his performance that season and was even named Southland Conference Player of the Year.

His senior season was a bit of a step backwards, with less passing touchdowns and more interceptions, but the experienced quarterback continued to be a threat running the ball and also had his best completion percentage of his career, completing 67.8% of his passes that year. He was named to the All-Southland First Team again as well as All-Louisiana Second Team. Fourcade finished his career winning the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year and he owns every major passing record in Nicholls State history.

Now Fourcade has come to Columbus and he brings with him a history of success and durability as well as a lot of experience that will be valuable in an already talented quarterback room.

ABOUT THE COLUMBUS LIONS

The Columbus Lions are members of the National Arena League (NAL). Founded in 2007, the Columbus Lions are starting their 15th season in 2021. The Lions are a 3x league champion and 13 playoff appearances in their rich history. The Lions play their home games at Hughston Field in the Columbus Civic Center. Lions Season Ticket Memberships are on sale now call (706) 322-3336 or visit columbuslions.com. Follow the Lions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lionsfootball/, twitter @columbuslions and instagram.com/Columbuslions.

ABOUT NATIONAL ARENA LEAGUE

The National Arena League was founded in 2016 and hosted its inaugural season in 2017 as the premier league in arena football. The National Arena League will kick off its fifth season in 2021. For more information regarding expansion opportunities or partnerships, contact Commissioner Chris Siegfried at chris@nationalarenaleague.com For more information about the NAL visit www.nationalarenaleague.com, facebook.com/nationalarenaleauge, twitter.com/NALfootball, Instagram.com/nationalarenaleague.