Colorado junior quarterback Connor Wood is stepping away from football and will not play in the fall of 2014. The university announced the retirement decision Friday through a release, stating Wood will graduate this spring and not pursue a transfer to play elsewhere next season. He will do so with one year of eligibility remaining.
Wood transferred to Colorado from Texas after the 2010 season and sat out the 2011 season before competing for the starting job under center in 2012. That competition was won by Kansas transfer Jordan Webb, but Wood came back in 2013 to win the starting job at the start of the season. He was eventually replaced by freshman Sefo Liufau in the middle of the season.
“Connor is a great young man and was a big part of our program,” Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre said in a statement released by the university. “He had a phenomenal game in our win over CSU in our season opener. He means a lot to our program and to our team, but he has decided to graduate and move on to other things in life.”
NCAA transfer rules would allow Wood to play at another FBS program in the fall because he will have graduated, but according to Colorado he intends to graduate this spring and move on to life after football.
“First of all, I want to thank my family for sticking by me through the thick and thin,” Wood said. “Whether I was the starting quarterback or battling for third string, their unwavering support for me was beyond compare. Secondly, I want to thank (Texas) coach Mack Brown for giving me a scholarship and the opportunity for me to pursue my dream of playing college football.”