College QB abruptly quits - 'never been a dream' to play in pros
For most college football players, their ultimate dream is to play at the next level and suit up in the NFL.
Jason Driskel of Florida Atlantic clearly isn’t most players.
The quarterback recently completed his junior season with Lane Kiffin’s Owls, but there will be no senior season for Driskel as he has decided to retire from football.
Driskel released a statement on his Twitter account in which he, in part, said, “It was always a dream of mine to play quarterback at the FBS level and I’m proud of accomplishing that goal. It has never been a dream of mine; however, to play football beyond college and with that in mind I used the other gifts that God has blessed me with to pursue a Civil Engineering degree which I will complete in May.”
@Lane_Kiffin @kendalbriles @Coachbwright4 @CoachPartridge @CoachTTrickett – Thank you all! pic.twitter.com/8seBnrtcDI
— Jason Driskel (@JDriskel16) January 18, 2018
Driskel led Conference USA in passer rating and completion percentage this past season, which was the most successful in program history. He’ll finish his career with 27 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
His final game was arguably the best game of his career as he threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 67 yards and two scores. FAU defeated Akron 50-3 in the Boca Raton Bowl, which was played in the Owls’ home stadium.
“I undoubtedly will miss my teammates and the game with all of its trials and tribulations, but I will not regret the decision to move into the next chapter of my life,” Driskel wrote.
As stated earlier, academics is a big part of the next chapter in Driskel’s life. He posted a 3.3 GPA last season and was twice selected to Conference USA’s commissioner’s honor roll. He was also named to the league’s All-Academic team.
Driskel would have had one more year of eligibility but wasn’t going to be handed the starting job. He would have faced competition from Oklahoma transfer Chris Robison and former FSU quarterback De’Andre Johnson, both former four-star recruits.
With Driskel retiring and his backup Daniel Parr transferring to Duquesne, Johnson is the only quarterback on the roster who has taken a snap. He completed two of three passes last season before being sidelined with blood clots.
The changes within FAU’s coaching staff also may have played a role in Driskel’s decision to leave the game. Just Wednesday, Kiffin announced that 24-year-old Charlie Weis Jr. would be the team’s new offensive coordinator. Former FAU offensive coordinator Kendal Briles left the position to take a similar one with Houston.
Driskel appeared to be especially tight with Briles as he singled him out in his retirement statement for “always believing in me and showing me that football is what we do but not who we are.”
For what it’s worth, Weis was on the Florida Gators staff in 2011 when his father, Charlie Weis Sr., was the team’s offensive coordinator. Also on that team was Jason Driskel’s brother, Jeff Driskel.
Jeff played just one season under Weis, but did end up transferring from Florida after the 2014 season. He played one more college season at Louisiana Tech and is now the third quarterback on the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It was not always easy, I am sure, but you stuck with us through the hard times,” Driskel told fans. “You have now been rewarded with a great season and a great team that will continue to improve under Coach Kiffin.”
Next season will be the first under Kiffin’s 10-year extension he agreed to in December. The Owls will enter the 2018 season on a 10-game winning streak, but it will be a tough task to push it to 11 as their opening game will be against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.
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