| Chad Barnhardt | |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Birth Date: | 21 January 1976 |
| Birth Place: | Lake Wales, Florida, U.S. |
| High School: | Lake Wales (FL) |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lbs: | 220 |
| College: | South Carolina, South Florida |
| Undraftedyear: | 1999 |
Steven Chad Barnhardt (born January 21, 1976) is a former American football quarterback. Barnhardt was a backup for the South Carolina Gamecocks, before transferring and becoming the first starting quarterback for the South Florida Bulls.[1]
Prior to playing for the Bulls, Barnhardt played a backup role for the South Carolina Gamecocks.[2] Looking for a change and an opportunity to start, Barnhardt returned to his native Florida, and became the Bulls' starting quarterback.[3] His legacy is mainly cemented on being the team's first starting quarterback.[3] [4] Additionally, Barnhardt brought credibility, leadership, and direction to the program.[3] [4] Due to this, he was considered "the perfect quarterback for a program trying to find itself."[3] Playing 2 seasons for the team, Barnhardt threw for 4,138 yards and 27 touchdowns, while leading the Bulls to a 13–9 record when he started.[5]
Barnhardt has also served various coaching tenures. After three seasons as the head coach of Lake Wales High School's football team, Barnhardt had a stint with the Bulls as a grad assistant on offense, and later as the offensive coordinator for the Webber International Warriors.[6] [7]
Outside of football, Barnhardt was a business major.[2] Eventually, Barnhardt started to feel burned out from coaching and became the Vice President Commercial Loan Officer at CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A.[5] [8]
| Year | School | Passing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | South Carolina | 11 | 7 | 17 | 41.2 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 85.2 | |
| 1997 | South Florida | 11 | 186 | 326 | 57.1 | 2,362 | 10 | 7 | – | |
| 1998 | South Florida | – | – | – | – | 1,776 | 17 | – | – | |
| Statistics gathered from USF's official bio for Barnhardt, ESPN, and Sports-Reference.[9] | ||||||||||