Starting Oregon Tight End Colt Lyerla has left the football team. The exact reason is uncertain at this point but we do know that Colt and new head coach Mark Helfrich never quite saw eye to eye. In fact, Lyerla was suspended for the last game. Here is what Lyerla had to say through the statement released by Oregon:
“I love everyone at Oregon; everyone’s on good terms, I believe,” Lyerla said. “Just for my own benefit, it was time to move on. I wish nothing but the best for coach Helfrich and the team. I love the University of Oregon and am so thankful for every opportunity that I had. I’m going to use everything I learned from this program and do my best to be successful in whatever happens in the future.”
He was pretty gracious in his official statement but then he took to Twitter with this cryptic message:
Can't wait to see who really loves me..
— THE ONE FIVE (@LongLiveLyerla) October 7, 2013
There seems to be more to this story but for now we know that the TE will no longer be with the team. The Ducks haven’t missed a beat without him so far so this shouldn’t effect them on the field too much. Lyerla did say that he will not transfer to another school and will concentrate on going to the NFL.