Florida Atlantic quarterback Jason Driskel has announced that he is ending his football career.
Driskell would have been eligible to return to the Owls next season, but is about to graduate with a civil engineering degree.
“It was always a dream of mine to play quarterback at the FBS level and I’m proud of accomplishing that goal,” Driskel wrote in a social media post (h/t ESPN) .
“It has never been a dream of mine, however, to play football beyond college.”
Driskel’s strong performance helped the Owls to an 11-3 season in 2017, including a Conference USA championship and a win in the Boca Raton Bowl where Driskel was named offensive MVP of FAU’s 50-3 victory over Akron.
In that game, Driskel threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and ran the ball for two more scores.
Driskel threw for 2,247 yards and 15 touchdowns, with only 4 interceptions, while boasting a 67% completion percentage this season.
This will likely alter college football odds moving forward, especially that Driskel is no longer under center for the Owls.
“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.
“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.”
Jake is the younger brother of the NFL’s Jeff Driskel, a former Florida and Louisiana Tech quarterback who is now a backup for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Driskel played in 35 games in his career and finished with 5,627 yards and 27 touchdowns. Driskel was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team.
The Owls lost just once in games he started, ending the year on a 10-game winning streak
Driskel also posted a 3.3 grade point average and was twice selected to the league commissioner’s honor roll.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the coaches that helped me to live my dream at FAU,” Driskel wrote.
“Thank you to coach [Charlie] Partridge for honoring my commitment to FAU when he didn’t have to, as well as coach [Brian] Wright, who saw in me what a lot of others didn’t. Thank you to coach [Travis] Trickett for coming in and further developing me. Thank you to coach Kiffin for coming and taking us to another level and finally to coach Briles for always believing in me and showing me that football is what we do but not who we are.”