Browder reflects on season with the Bucs

Charlie Browder's first season playing organized football in the Tri-Cities in nearly a decade ended in a grand way. The Kingsport native led East Tennessee State in receiving yards in the Bucs' 28-26 victory over The Citadel. He had three receptions for 55 yards, and fellow tight end Cole Keller had two catches for 39 yards. Browder explained a tight end doesn't always know when the opportunities to catch the ball will come. "Sometimes that happens in games like that. Obviously, me and Cole had a good game against Western Carolina, and then again this week," Browder said. "Some games as a tight end, you're asked to protect more. Some games, you're heavily involved in the run game. This week, it just happened the ball got in my and Cole's hands." Most importantly, he was glad to be on a team that finished the season with four consecutive victories. It's huge to have that momentum going into the long offseason. Browder, a 6-7, 255-pound senior, played two seasons in high school for Dobyns-Bennett before finishing his career at Asheville Christ School. He began his college career at Central Florida and then transferred to Tennessee. He talked about coming back home to the Tri-Cities. "I hadn't lived in the Tri-Cities since the fall of 2019, so it been a while," he said. "I've been home more than I ever have been. I'd go home and have dinner with my Aunt Martha, my parents, every Thursday night. It's definitely been fun." Browder has become more involved with the local community. He hosted a camp for young players in Kingsport back in the summer which more than a dozen of his ETSU teammates also participated in. The strong finish to the season added to the overall experience. "Being a local guy, I've always been a far-away fan of ETSU," he said. "You want to root for the local team. So now actually being a part of this team has been really special, especially have in the year on a high note. Hopefully it gives this community something good to support and gather around." Browder is also a far-away fan of two other college programs. His brother, Jack, is the leading scorer for the Carson-Newman basketball team. Jack was named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week for the fifth time in his college career after totaling 30 points and 15 rebounds in a 74-61 win over Lander. Charlie and the rest of the family are heading to Memphis to eat barbeque instead of turkey on Thanksgiving Day. His youngest brother, Sam, is an offensive lineman for the Memphis football team, which takes on Navy on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Browder wishes his own team was still playing, but the Bucs (7-5) lost four close games throughout the season. He and the team could've given up on the season after being 3-5 after a loss at Chattanooga where ETSU blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. They came back the next week to beat Wofford on Homecoming. Browder, who finished the season with 17 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns, said it's hard for those outside the locker room to understand the mentality of the team and the energy from head coach Will Healy. "We're probably seven plays away from having different feeling," he said. "You lose close game after close game and come in on Monday, it's the same energy, that guy (Healy) is yelling at you about juice. How do you help your brother? The way we battled, the way we fought back really puts a smile on your face and makes you proud to be a Buccaneer."