Syracuse Football: WR Quinta Funderburk Granted Release, Will Transfer (UPDATE)

Update: The situation gets a little more interesting as Stephen Bailey reports that Funderburk wanted to return for his fifth year but Scott Shafer denied it. According to Terrel Hunt, "a few mishaps" had something to do with the decision.

Original: Oh, Quinta Funderburk. We had such hopes.

The former Arkansas Razorbacks wideout transferred to play for the Syracuse Orange in 2012 and brought with him the potential of having an SEC-caliber athlete running routes on the Dome turf. A four-star prospect out of high school, Funderburk came to SU in the wake of the Bobby Petrino scandal and over his own off-field concerns. The hope was that he would be the next great Syracuse receiver by the time he was a senior.

Instead, Funderburk never quite met the expectations of his coaches and Orange fans and now he's transferring once again to see if he can finish out his playing career elsewhere.

Funderburk's high school coach at Oscar Smith, Richard Morgan, said Tuesday that his former wide receiver approached him in mid-February looking to leave Syracuse.

"He's got his release from the school," Morgan said. "He's got one year left to play. He still wants to play, and I want him to have that moment. He was a good player for us. Hopefully we're going to be able to find that fit."

All signs point to Funderburk being told he wasn't going to see much playing time in 2015 and then making the decision to find a place where he could (Last year, Shafer praised Funderburk's ability and chances to earn playing time before the season, which never materialized). Quinta is on track to graduate from Syracuse in May, so at the very least he'll be able to take that with him.

Quinta's Syracuse career ends with 12 appearances and three receptions for fifty yards.

At this point if he wants to play, he'll have to drop down to FCS level. Chances are, those are the only schools who will offer up interest anyway. Whatever happens, we're sorry it didn't work out how we all hoped but wish you well, Quinta. Good luck out there.