A.J. Derby becomes fourth to leave football program
When A.J. Derby signed a letter of intent to play at Iowa on Feb. 3, 2010, coach Kirk Ferentz said he thought the Iowa City native would "work out beautifully."
But from a football standpoint, he didn't.
Derby has been released from his scholarship, and he will transfer, the team announced on Monday.
The redshirt freshman linebacker said in a statement that he doesn't "feel [Iowa] is the best fit for me personally to reach my goals as a student-athlete."
"I'd like to thank the University of Iowa and football coaches for the opportunity," he said in the release. "… I especially wish my brother [Zach Derby, a senior-to-be tight end] the best of luck in the coming year. I will miss all of my teammates, family, and friends who have supported me here. Good luck to everybody.
"Once a Hawk, always a Hawk."
Derby now becomes the fourth former Iowa player to leave in the past two weeks. Running backs Marcus Coker and Mika'il McCall each departed in the wake of team suspensions, and junior offensive tackle Riley Reiff announced his plans to enter the 2012 NFL Draft on Jan. 3.
Derby was a former four-star recruit and one of the most highly touted prospects of the Ferentz era.
Derby was listed at 6-4 and 218 pounds coming out of City High, where he led the Little Hawks to a state title his senior year as a dual-threat quarterback (he accounted for 23 touchdowns through the air and 15 on the ground), kicker, punter, and defensive back. Rivals.com named him the "Special Teams Stud" of the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl — the website said he "can do just about anything well" — and he earned scholarship offers from a list of national powers including Alabama, Florida, Miami, Nebraska, Stanford, and Wisconsin.
He enrolled at Iowa a semester early to participate in spring practice, redshirted the 2010 season, and entered the 2011 campaign listed as the Hawkeyes' co-second-team quarterback. He completed 3-of-6 passes for 30 yards in garbage time of the Black and Gold's beatdowns of Tennessee Tech and Louisiana-Monroe.
The 20-year-old was suspended for two games following an October arrest for fourth-degree criminal mischief and public intoxication, and he was asked to move from quarterback to linebacker shortly thereafter to help fill spots created by injuries.
He saw his first action on special teams against Indiana on Oct. 22, and picked up his only tackle of the season when he drilled Hoosier kick returner Shane Wynn in the third quarter.
"It was good to get some contact out there and make a tackle," he said after the game. "I haven't hit anybody since I got here — which is weird — so it was kind of fun."
A statement from Ferentz released Monday suggests there's no bad blood between Derby and the program.
"We are sorry to see A.J. leave the program," Ferentz said in a statement. "He has been a positive member of our team and a pleasure to coach over the past two years. We wish him the best as he moves forward with his career."
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