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On Monday afternoon, Miami Hurricanes QB Evan Shirreffs announced his intention to transfer from the program.
I want to thank Coach Richt, the staff, and my teammates for an incredible 3 years at the University of Miami. I have decided to seek opportunities as a graduate transfer for my final 2 years of eligibility.
— Evan Shirreffs (@eshirreffs) January 15, 2018
This roster move was confirmed by official announcement by Miami Athletics on Monday evening:
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami announced Monday that quarterback Evan Shirreffs has decided to leave the football program.
“Evan and I talked, and he informed me that he feels his best opportunity to get the most playing time would be at another school,” head coach Mark Richt said. “We appreciate all the hard work Evan has put in on and off the field, and we wish him all the best in his future plans.”
Shirreffs, a redshirt sophomore from Jefferson, Ga., played in four games for the Hurricanes this past season.
A very intelligent person — Shirreffs was the valedictorian of his HS’s graduating class - Shirreffs will graduate from Miami in 3 years, and then seek a graduate transfer elsewhere.
Lightly recruited out of Jefferson (GA) HS, Shirreffs picked Miami over offers from Columbia and VMI. As I said, he was the valedictorian of his graduating class, and could have gone to the school of his choosing based solely on his academics.
As a football player, Shirreffs was award-winning in HS, but limited physically, and unable to really push for playing time at Miami. He lost the QB battle in 2017 to Malik Rosier, and by all accounts was now running 3rd behind both Rosier and redshirt Freshman N’Kosi Perry heading into the bowl game.
With 4-star QB Jarren Williams, a U.S. Army All-American, enrolling early and likely to insert himself into the current QB competition, the situation for Shirreffs was not going to be good. He would likely never play at Miami, and so he’s made the choice to transfer.
As with all players, we wish Evan Shirreffs the best in his future endeavors.