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Sam Browder had a choice to make.
His first option? Follow the head coach he knew, the guy who recruited him, to the Southeastern Conference.
His second option? Head to the FCS program close to home, and reunite with family in more ways than one.
Browder, a Kingsport native, chose the latter path, making the move from Memphis to ETSU in mid-January through the transfer portal. He bypassed an offer to sign on at Arkansas under new Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield, formerly the head coach at Memphis.
A 6-6, 305-pound redshirt freshman offensive lineman, Browder talked about his decision, his time at Memphis, entering the portal, and more in an exclusive interview with I-81 Sports earlier this week.
“It was a hard decision,” Browder said. “Those were my guys [at Arkansas]. “Those were the people I had a relationship with. I visited both schools. I kept an open mind, prayed about it. One, just God was pulling me here.”
One factor that figured prominently in Browder’s decision: the chance to play with his older brother, Charlie, a tight end on the ETSU roster who joined the team in 2025 and is using a medical redshirt to come back and play for a sixth and final season.
Sam Browder, the youngest in a family of four, described it as “a super incredible opportunity to play with my brother. We’ve never played together on the same court, field, anything. That’s something really cool.
“It’s my future, I can’t weigh my whole decision just cause of him (Charlie),” Browder added. “That wouldn’t be smart. I also can’t lie and say that that wasn’t a factor.
“Me being a tackle and him being a tight end, there’ll be a lot of plays we can line up right next to each other. For it to be somewhere close to home like ETSU, that makes it even more special.”
Sam already had a relationship with ETSU coach Will Healy, having accompanied Charlie on his visit to ETSU last year when the eldest Browder went into the portal from Tennessee.
“He was at Tennessee and he never got the opportunity to play,” Sam noted. “Here I was sitting in that similar situation and he’s telling me how much fun he had at ETSU. That was huge. I’m super blessed and thankful it worked out the way it did. I’m real excited.”
Browder spent his lone season at Memphis entirely on the scout team, though that had a chance to change for the bowl game, after both starting tackles, Chris Adams and Travis Burke, opted out. Browder said he got some reps at tackle during the bowl practices, but after Memphis offensive line coach Jeff Myers followed Silverfield to Arkansas, Browder ended up inactive for the Gasparilla Bowl, which the Tigers lost 31-7 to NC State on December 19 in Tampa. Myers’ hire by Arkansas was first reported December 8 and made official nine days later.
Browder reflected on Memphis trying to prepare for a bowl game under an interim staff after Silverfield left, as assistant coaches left in the middle of the prep to join the staff at Arkansas, and all with newly hired coach Charles Huff poised to take over the program after the bowl.
“It was a crazy time for sure,” Browder said. “I think we did a good job as a team sticking together. We did what we could throughout the practices. Got there Monday, played on Friday. No one knew what was gonna happen after the bowl game.”
Huff proceeded to replace the entire remaining coaching staff.
“We didn’t know every coach was gonna get fired,” Browder said. “Some guys got cut, a lot of people went in the portal. As a team, that’s what happened.”
Browder never got the chance to meet Huff but did speak on the phone with Memphis’ new offensive line coach, Alex Kwon.
“I knew they wanted to bring in guys with playing experience,” Browder recalled. “If I would have stayed, it was kind of a similar situation to this year. Practicing, getting reps but not playing much.”
Once Browder decided to go into the portal, his former position coach remained in contact.
“Once again i was really blessed,” Browder said. “He pretty much told me he was gonna take care of me. I didn’t know at the time that was him wanting me to go with him to Arkansas. If there was another school I was interested in, he said he would’ve helped me.”
The chance to play more, and play sooner, helped sway Browder to ETSU. The Bucs lost multiple key offensive linemen, who either completed their eligibility or left for other destinations through the portal.
“It would be an injustice if I didn’t give credit to ETSU,” Browder said. “I wanted to be a part of ETSU. There’s something special with coach Healy. I built a connection with those guys when I visited. I feel like I can develop as a player and I would have a better opp to get on the field my first year.”
It gives Browder a chance to play on his home turf after several years away from home. In 2023, he transferred from Dobyns-Bennett to Christ School, a private school in the Asheville, N.C., area. Browder reclassified, spending a year and a half at Christ School, and enrolled early at Memphis in January of 2025. He’s the third college athlete in his family. In addition to Charlie, the oldest, brother Jack Browder is a standout basketball player at Division II Carson-Newman.
Sam said he spent the latter half of January adjusting to his new school, a new routine, and getting to know the coaches and players for ETSU. The final week of January marked the first full week of the offseason conditioning program. There already are a few differences. At Memphis, the offensive and defensive lineman worked out together. At ETSU, the entire offensive roster lifts together.
“We have a lot of energy. Everybody’s got each other’s backs,” Browder said.
Browder recalled one moment from Friday’s conditioning, when Healy briefly paused the workout and told each player to shake five teammates’ hands. He said moments like those help build camaraderie.
“It’s hard. The lifts we’re doing is hard, the running is hard, but we’re all doing it together,” Browder said.
ETSU has yet to announce its spring schedule, but the 2026 campaign kicks off Aug. 29 against Campbell.