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Houston quarterback D’Eriq King has informed the Houston Cougars that he will sit out of the rest of this season.
Joseph Durate of the Houston Chronicle first broke the news of King’s decision.
BREAKING NEWS: Source to Houston Chronicle: UH QB D'Eriq King to sit out rest of season, redshirt https://t.co/xsJsCKpCZO via @houstonchron
— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) September 23, 2019
King’s father, Eric King, confirmed the news that King will look to continue his college football career elsewhere.
Eric King, father of QB D'Eriq King, confirms his son is leaving @UHCougarFB & transfer: "It's the best decision for him at this point. Very, very tough (decision). He's got a lot of teammates riding on him. Sometimes you got to be a little self-centered & do what's best for u"
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 23, 2019
It is a major blow to Dana Holgorsen in his first year at Houston, who now has to decide who will take over for the rest of the season. Sophomore Clayton Tune, who Holgorsen has already said hoped to redshirt this season, could be the next man up for the Coogs. Logan Holgorsen, Dana’s son, and Ike Ogbogu are the only other quarterbacks on the Houston roster.
King has thrown for 663 yards and six touchdowns, and rushed for 312 and six touchdowns in this season. He broke Tim Tebow’s record by throwing and rushing for touchdowns in 15 consecutive games in the loss to Tulane last Thursday.
King, who accounted for 50 touchdowns last season before tearing his meniscus in November, will be able to keep a year of eligibility under the four-game redshirt rule. It remains to be seen if he can graduate early and immediately become eligible next season.
Houston is 1-3 to start the season and the AAC West is wide open with the latest news. Tulane, SMU and Memphis all figure to compete for the division title this season.
Update:
Wide receiver Keith Corbin also plans to redshirt this season, but while there was thought the duo would enter the transfer portal, it sounds as though they may stay at Houston.
— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) September 23, 2019
We will continue to update this story as more becomes available.