Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada enters the transfer portal
Quarterback Zach Calzada has entered the transfer portal and will not play in Texas A&M’s Gator Bowl clash with Wake Forest.
There has been no indication as to which program Calzada intends to transfer.
Calzada’s decision likely means walk-on freshman Blake Bost will start in the Gator Bowl. Bost has completed 2-of-7 passes for 18 yards.
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher recently said former starter Haynes King, who missed most of the season with a broken leg, is not likely to play in the Gator Bowl.
The transfer will conclude an inconsistent year for the third-year sophomore from Sugar Hill, Ga.
Calzada passed for 2,185 yards and 17 touchdowns but threw nine interceptions while completing 56.1 percent of his passing attempts.
He may be remembered most by Aggies for an amazing performance in a 41-38 victory over Alabama. He completed 21-of-31 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns.
In the last five minutes, he directed the Aggies on scoring drives for a touchdown and a walk-off field goal.
However, that was a high point in an otherwise mediocre season.
Calzada was originally beaten out for the starting quarterback competition by King in August camp. However, King was injured in the second game of the season against Colorado.
That forced Calzada into the lineup. He struggled most of that game but managed to lead the Aggies to a 10-7 victory when he lofted a touchdown pass to Isaiah Spiller with just over two minutes remaining.
He later struggled in losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State and threw two fourth-quarter interceptions — including a pick-six — in a 29-19 loss to Ole Miss.
Calzada’s decision to transfer rekindles memories of the 2015 season when quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Kyle Allen both announced plans to transfer in early December. That resulted in Jake Hubenak starting a 27-21 loss to Louisville in the Music City Bowl. Hubenak passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns in that loss.