Sports360AZ
Story by Nicholas Welter
Former Chandler High School and Arizona State quarterback, Bryce Perkins, has found new success on the football field after transferring to Arizona Western College last spring. His journey from Chandler to Tempe to Yuma now may have another stop. Thursday night Perkins received a scholarship offer from the University of Virginia.
“I’m happy just to be back on the field,” Perkins said in an interview with Sports360AZ.com. “When I got injured, they told me I was never going to play football again so I’m blessed just to be back on the field.”
Perkins missed all of last season with a fractured neck injury that almost ended his football career. After being limited in spring practices due to his injury, he decided to transfer out of ASU.
When asked why he chose Arizona Western, Perkins said it was for two reasons.
If he transferred to another Division 1 school, he would have had to sit out another season before becoming eligible, but transferring to a community college would allow him to play immediately.
He also said he wanted his family to be able to watch him play, a factor that he said was a top priority in his transfer decision. Yuma is roughly two and a half hours away from his home in the Valley.
“It just seemed like the perfect ideal spot for me,” Perkins explained.
The last time Perkins played in a game was at Chandler High and says the biggest adjustment he has had to make this year is getting used to the speed of the college game.
“So far, it’s been up and down,” Perkins said. “The first couple games were me getting acclimated back into the game again and as the season started progressing, I’ve started to get more comfortable.”
On the academic side of things, the former Wolves and Sun Devil said he has not had to take on a stressful class load this year. This has allowed him to focus more on football this semester.
“I handled business when I was at ASU” Perkins said. “I was a pretty good student and did well in all my classes.”
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