Luke Combs had a big announcement for App State football fans — but where was he?
Homegrown country music star Luke Combs delighted Appalachian State University football fans on Thursday when he announced he would be the guest picker on ESPN’s “College Game Day” this weekend.
The show is set to broadcast Saturday from Sanford Mall in Boone before the Mountaineers take on Troy at 3:30 p.m. The Mountaineers drew ESPN’s attention after their 17-14 upset of then-No. 6 Texas A&M in College Station last weekend.
In a Charlotte Observer poll asking who should be Saturday’s “College GameDay” picker, Combs finished second to App State football hero and ex-Carolina Panther Armanti Edwards. He was the quarterback when the Mountaineers upset No. 5 Michigan in 2007.
Edwards garnered 2,102 votes, or 50% of the 4,170 votes cast. Combs got 1,377 votes (33%); performer Eric Church, 315 (8%); WWE wrestler Charlotte Flair, 193 (5%); NBA superstar and Davidson College grad Steph Curry, 90 (2%); and Other, 103 (2%).
“Now listen,” Combs began his announcement on Twitter and Instagram just after 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
He wore an App State hat but didn’t say where he was.
Could the setting have been a restaurant in Boone? An App State clock, App State signs and football jerseys hung on the walls behind him.
“Today I give my ALL for Appalachian State,” read a sign shaped like the, err, forgive us, Tar Heel state.
We swore it was Macado’s on West King Street, but no, a server told The Charlotte Observer. He’s been there before but not anytime recently, the server said. She put us on hold to check with others. Nope, no one has seen him, she confirmed.
But back to Combs’ announcement for a sec.
“You know your boy has a show in Green Bay Friday night,” he continued in his 42-second Twitter video. “Unfortunately, he has a show on Saturday night as well.”
The Saturday night show also is in Green Bay, Wisconsin, according to his tour schedule.
‘I’m gonna be guest picker’
“The logistics were very, very difficult, but we got it put together, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said.
“Boone: I’m gonna be guest picker on ‘College GameDay’ this week. “Don’t even ask me who I’m pickin’. You know who I’m pickin’, baby.
“We’ll see ya up there.”
Next we tried the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce to try to get our answer, and bingo.
No restaurant in Boone has such a display on its walls, the woman who answered the phone said. She checked with others in the office. Definitely no place here.
They, too, checked out Combs’ video and spotted the Carolina Panthers jersey among those on a wall.
The answer was clear. Combs was in the “man cave” of his Nashville home, they deduced.
App State love runs deep
Saturday will be a college homecoming of sorts for the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year.
Combs was born in Huntersville, where he lived eight years before moving to Asheville.
He attended App State while working as a bouncer and performing at the local Town Tavern, he told Today.com. He dropped out near the end of his senior year to pursue his country music career, he told Taste of Country.
He remains a loyal Mountaineer, the Observer reported this week, noting his Sept. 10 Twitter post.
“IT’S GREAT TO BE A MOUNTAINEER!!!! @AppState_FB,” he wrote after the team’s Saturday upset of then-No. 6 Texas A&M. “UN. REAL!”