Shaquelle Evans apparently grew impatient waiting for a bigger role in Notre Dame's offense.
On Tuesday, Irish coach Brian Kelly said Evans is no longer with the team and will be released from his scholarship.
"Any time you lose a player, there is a disappointment that it didn't work out," Kelly said. "Sometimes those decisions are ones that we wouldn't really be able to understand. Maybe in five or ten years, we will look back on it and go, 'That was a great decision, or that was a poor decision.'
"It would be easy for me to say he just needed to be patient, but he didn't see it that way."
Evans had slid down the depth chart during fall camp, originally slotting behind Theo Riddick at slot receiver. But last week, offensive coordinator Charley Molnar said Roby Toma had locked up the backup spot behind Riddick.
Evans had also lost ground for an outside receiver spot opposite Michael Floyd as TJ Evans and Duval Kamara established themselves on the outside.
"I don't know if it was anything he couldn't do, but maybe some were able to move a little bit quicker along the process," Kelly said of Evans. "We were happy with his development, and he was moving in the right direction."
Kelly said Evans didn't give him a specific reason for wanting to transfer, and the coach didn't try to talk the sophomore out of leaving.
"I don't know that my role is really to talk somebody out of quitting but maybe pointing out have you considered this," Kelly said. "I will always say this, 'Have you talked to your family? What are your family's thoughts about this?' Have you clearly talked to them?
"If they haven't talked to their family, that's a red flag for me. He said he did, he talked to his family about it and that's why we wish him the best."
Kelly said he would release Evans to whatever school the receiver chooses, but the coach didn't know where Evans was looking to transfer to.
"He's a West coast kid. I think he would like to go back to the west coast and be closer to his family," Kelly said.
Evans was a big recruiting win for the Irish two years ago when he chose Notre Dame over USC. The former U.S. Army All-American was rated a four-star recruit and the nation's No. 160 overall prospect.
The Ingelwood (Calif.) High School product played in the first five games last season and saw action against Washington State. He had seven catches for 61 yards.
