Getty ETSU's Quinn Smith (left) looks to help the Bucs avoid an upset similar to the one his team pulled against Vanderbilt last year.
After advancing to the FCS quarterfinals a year ago, Eastern Tennessee State looks to build on that success in 2022. The Buccaneers’ first step in that goal is a matchup against Mars Hill on Thursday night.
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
The game (7:30 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch Mars Hill vs ETSU live on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ includes hundreds of live college football games in 2022, dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Mars Hill vs ETSU live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Mars Hill vs ETSU Preview
Eastern Tennessee State put together the best season in program history last year, and the Buccaneers will look to do more in 2022.
ETSU, ranked No. 11 in the FCS, kicks off against a Mars Hill team that plays Division II but could give the Bucs trouble. Last year’s Bucs squad went to Vanderbilt last year and knocked off an SEC squad 23-3.
“Just because you are the smaller team level wise doesn’t mean you can’t go win look what happened last at Vanderbilt I told the guys you went over there you just didn’t win but you dominated the game that could certainly happen those guys are on scholarship just like our guys are they are coached so it doesn’t matter who we play we get 11 opportunities to go out and compete we can’t afford to waste,” Bucs head coach George Quarles said via WJHL.’s Kenny Hawkins.
Quarles took over for Randy Sanders, who retired after the 2021 season. Quarles previously served as an associate head coach at Furman.
He has big shoes to fill after Sanders turned ETSU into a playoff contender. The Bucs went 11-2 and reached the FCS quarterfinals before perennial power North Dakota State knocked them out.
“I know we are still in the honeymoon stage, we are still undefeated,” Quarles said via the Herald Courier’s Brian Woodson. “Coach Sanders did a great job obviously and is a tough act to follow, but I am not trying to be Coach Sanders and couldn’t be if I wanted to.”
“We are a relatively young group, but a lot of these guys have played a lot of football,” Quarles said per Woodson. “Because of the COVID year, that year didn’t count for some of them so some of them have played two or three years, but they are still redshirt sophomores.”
“It is just the way it works out,” Quarles added. “I do think we have a fair amount of depth in a lot of positions. We are probably a little thin in a few, but the whole purpose of trying to build a program is that you do it year after year and you have got a number of guys that can do things, not just 11 or 22.”