AUSTIN, Texas -- Longhorns redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Brewer has left the program, the school said in a statement.
Brewer's mother, Deborah Brewer, told HornsNation on Tuesday that her son is seeking a transfer, but would not comment as to why this decision was made or what schools Brewer is considering.
"I want to thank everyone at The University of Texas -- the coaching staff, the fans and especially my teammates for a great experience here in Austin over the last 18 months," Connor Brewer said in the statement released by the school. "In particular, I want to thank Coach [Mack] Brown for giving me the opportunity to play football at The University of Texas. It was a dream come true, and I have loved every minute of being a Texas Longhorn."
"We appreciate everything Connor has brought to our program," Brown said in the statement. "He is a tremendous young man and is a great teammate and student. We hate to see him leave, but at the same time we understand his reasons. We wish him the best of luck in the future."
Without being specific, Brewer said Wednesday other schools had already inquired about his transferring.
"There are definitely a lot of schools that are interested," Brewer said. "A lot of schools that recruited me are coming back in the picture, which is good news."
He chose the Longhorns over offers from Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC and Washington.
"I'm just playing it by ear," he said. "Just getting in contact with schools over the next couple of days."
A congested path to playing time was likely one of the main reasons for his departure from Texas. David Ash has started his first two seasons at Texas and still has two years of eligibility remaining. Behind him is senior Case McCoy, who played in eight games last season, and highly touted true freshman Tyrone Swoopes, who dazzled in the spring game.
"What the final, final straw was, I'm not sure. I don't know if he was getting the absolute fair shot there," said Dennis Gile, Brewer's private quarterbacks coach while in high school. "He's got a guy in front of him that's going to play at least two more years. They are making a big thing about this Swoopes kid and him being the future of the program. As a kid that's playing there that probably deserves to step on the field, at least next in line to Ash, I would feel the same way. What's the deal? There's no reason for him to just stay there and sit when he can be the starter somewhere else."
There are so many quarterbacks vying for snaps that Texas has decided to tinker with redshirt freshman Jalen Overstreet at wide receiver or the defensive secondary. And then there is, perhaps, the most highly regarded of the QBs, 2014 commitment Jerrod Heard (Denton, Texas/Guyer), who accounted for seven touchdowns in a state championship win last season.
The logjam at the position didn't leave much room for Brewer to compete, even though he figured to be in the running for the No. 2 job this fall.
His pending transfer from the program brings a sudden halt to a promising career that never materialized in burnt orange.
Brewer was highly sought out of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral High School in 2012. An Under Armour All-American, he was the No. 130 recruit in the ESPN 300 and the No. 7 quarterback.
A four-star recruit, he ended his high school career by becoming the first quarterback in Arizona history to win three consecutive state titles as the starting quarterback. He finished his career with a 41-2 record.
Brewer (6 feet 2, 195 pounds) also set an Arizona big-school record with 100 career touchdown passes. In 686 career attempts, of which he completed 441 for 7,574 yards, he threw only 17 interceptions. That equates to one interception out of every 40 passes thrown.
Brewer is the second of his siblings to transfer from Texas. His sister, Ashley Brewer, left the Longhorns swim team in 2012 and now competes for USC.