Erstwhile Cal quarterback Allan Bridgford, head coach Sonny Dykes confirmed last week, has spent the past few days contemplating his future with the Bears.
The contemplation has come to an end and, as expected, that future involves moving on from the Berkeley school.
Bridgford confirmed Monday evening on his Twitter account that he has decided to leave the football program and will transfer to an unknown school. The player informed his head coach of the decision earlier in the day.
“Today I asked for my release from the CAL football team. I plan on graduating this summer and transferring 2 another school 2 play football,” one of Bridgford’s tweets read. “I want to thank everyone who has ever supported me in any way. I love CAL and always will. It is time for me to move on and God has a plan for me. Go bears, always.”
Bridgford had left the team mid-week to discuss with his family his future with the team. The decision comes after he was informed by the coaching staff that his practice time would be reduced this spring.
“We wish Allan all the best both on the football field and in the classroom,” Dykes said in a statement. “He is a quality quarterback that should have success in an offense suited for his skill set. His contributions to Cal football over the past four years are appreciated, and we are pleased that he has decided to graduate from Cal this summer.”
Zach Kline, a four-star member of Cal’s 2012 recruiting class who took a redshirt as a true freshman, entered spring as the favorite to replace Zach Maynard as the starter. True freshman Jared Goff (four-star member of this year’s recruiting class) and redshirt junior Austin Hinder are also eating up reps that otherwise might have gone to Bridgford.
In a statement, Bridgford confirmed that his departure was directly tied to practice reps, or lack thereof.
“As the team’s most experienced quarterback, I expected to take the majority of reps this spring,” Bridgford added. “But after having limited reps in the first four spring practices, I met with both offensive coordinator Tony Franklin and head coach Sonny Dykes. It was made clear to me that they had decided to go in a different direction.”
Last season, Bridgford started three games, completing less than 46 percent of his passes for 277 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He was the only QB on the Cal roster who’s thrown a pass at the FBS level.
Because he will graduate from Cal, Bridgford can transfer to another FBS-level school and play immediately, provided he enters a grad program not offered at his former school. In his statement, Bridgford also alluded to being granted a sixth season of eligibility and playing two more years at the collegiate level.
Bridgford did not play in 2009 as a true freshman (redshirt) or in 2010 (shoulder injury). The player will likely appeal to the NCAA that his redshirt season was due to a medical issue.