After finishing USC‘s quarterback competition No. 4 on the depth chart, redshirt sophomore Jack Sears has entered the transfer portal.
Sears announced his decision earlier Tuesday via Twitter.
“The past week has been a difficult time, a bump in the road, and it makes me realize that life is not linear,” he wrote. “I love my teammates, football, USC, and the USC degree. Nobody can ever take that degree away from me.”
USC coach Clay Helton announced last week that sophomore JT Daniels had retained the starting QB job and true freshman Kedon Slovis would serve as his primary backup, leading to the expectation that Sears would seek other options.
Sears, who replaced former Trojans starter Sam Darnold at San Clemente High in Southern California, started once for USC last season due to injuries to Daniels and backup Matt Fink. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards with a pair of touchdowns in a loss to Arizona State.
He arrived at USC as the No. 5-ranked pocket passer in the Class of 2017 and was ranked No. 103 overall in the ESPN 300.