Ole Miss QB Ryan Buchanan leaves team

Ole Miss is down to just three scholarship quarterbacks.

Ryan Buchanan, who was set to be a redshirt junior in the fall, has decided to call it a career in order to focus on his academics.

“I came to the conclusion a few months ago that football would not be my future and it was time to start applying myself 100% to my future,” he told Ole Miss Spirit. “It’s time for me to find my passion beyond football.”

Buchanan was a backup behind Bo Wallace for two seasons and then competed for the starting role entering the 2015 season, but was beat out by junior college transfer Chad Kelly. Buchanan said he considered transferring, but ultimately decided to stay at Ole Miss as a student. He is on track to graduate next spring with a degree in managerial finance.

“The reason I got up at 5:30 a.m. four days a week for three years was to play football at Ole Miss. I would not take that kind of dedication with me anywhere else,” Buchanan said.

Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze tweeted about Buchanan’s departure from the team on Saturday.

In his three seasons with the program, Buchanan completed 20-of-35 passes for 171 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in 26 games. He also served as the team’s holder.

Buchanan is the second Ole Miss quarterback to transfer this offseason. DeVante Kincade made the decision in December and landed at Grambling.

Kelly will return as a senior in 2016, but the Rebels don’t have much experience behind him. Five-star recruit Shea Patterson is already on campus as an early enrollee. He and Jason Pellerin, a three-star recruit in the 2015 class who redshirted last season, are the only other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

For more Ole Miss news, visit RebelGrove.com.

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