Lindsey just wants to play
Quarterback will get chance to vie for starter’s job
ALBANY — University at Albany quarterback Trey Lindsey has thrown one pass in a game since graduating from high school almost six years ago.
It worked out pretty well for the Great Danes.
Lindsey, a graduate student, entered last year’s 31-20 loss at Hawaii for one play. He replaced starter Reese Poffenbarger, who had to come out late in the fourth quarter when his helmet came off.
Lindsey, a native of Montgomery, Ala., completed a throw to Caden Burti on a slant for 22 yards. He also absorbed a late hit around the helmet that drew a roughing the passer flag for an extra 15 yards.
“It felt good,” Lindsey said. “It reminded me of why I love the game. Taking a shot, I forgot to put my mouthpiece in because it had been so long. Got a little blood in the mouth, so it was good. I enjoyed it.”
After that brief taste of action, Lindsey will enter spring ball with a chance to become the starter after Poffenbarger transferred to the University of Miami in January. Lindsey will compete with a group that includes Wisconsin transfer Myles Burkett.
Lindsey has waited a long time. He spent four years at Auburn University of the Southeastern Conference. He joined the Tigers as a walk-on, earned a scholarship and served as a scoutteam quarterback in practice. He got into one game his senior year without attempting a pass.
Transferring to Ualbany last season, Lindsey played in the Hawaii game and a few others late in lopsided contests for hand-offs or kneel-downs.
“Everywhere I’ve been, I think most people say I take it very seriously,” Lindsey said. “The way I’ve looked at the game, gone about my business hasn’t ever changed. When I committed here, I think I came in with the mindset of, just do whatever I can do for the team and when Reese leaves, obviously that gets heightened. But I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to show these guys I can play, and I think the whole team believes I can play.”
Ualbany coach Greg Gattuso said he has faith in Lindsey, who has “got the ability to be a really good quarterback.” Gattuso said he’ll be fair with the snaps in practice for Lindsey, Burkett, and Jordan Rae of Liverpool, who was a Ualbany freshman last season.
“We think there’s going to be a great competition,” Gattuso said. “Those guys are going to fight it out in the spring and into the fall and my experience with this is, it can go one of two ways. A guy can win it fast like Reese did when he came in two years ago, or it takes time and they’ve got to battle and show us how they can manage the offense and play the game.”
Lindsey will be competing for the starting job while completing his Master of Business Administration.
When Lindsey entered the transfer portal in December 2022, he had two seasons of eligibility left because of the extra year granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He heard from Ualbany offensive coordinator Jared Ambrose and visited the campus.
“This coaching staff was first class from the top down,” Lindsey said. “The whole staff ’s awesome. I actually was getting married, so I wasn’t too scared to come here alone because I was going to have a team full of guys that have similar interests.”
His wife, Emmalyne, joined Lindsey in Albany after his first semester.
“That’s about as southern of a name as you can find right there,” Lindsey said.
They’ve been married since last May. Emmalyne works at a store near the Ualbany campus.
Lindsey enjoyed his time at Auburn, 15 minutes from his hometown. He grew up a Tigers fan and his parents and grandfather went there. But he’s glad to have a chance to play at Ualbany.
“That was always a dream come true to put on those (Auburn) pads,” Lindsey said. “But getting a chance to play, once I got here and I took that shot in Hawaii, I was like, this is what the dream always was, and that’s playing ball.”