Second Ole Miss Quarterback Leaves Team in Offseason Leaving Little Depth

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The proverbial writing may have been on the wall but years of hard work and dedication to the Ole Miss football program was narrowed down to a head coach’s tweet on Saturday with the announcement that Ryan Buchanan was hanging up his cleats. The move leaves little experience on the roster heading into the 2016 season.

Redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Buchanan made the decision to quit football over the weekend to focus on earning his degree. The move is understandable with 4,000-yard passer Chad Kelly coming back and 5-star Class of 2016 recruit Shea Patterson already on campus as the heir apparent under center.

Buchanan saw action in all 13 games for Mississippi last year but finished the season 9 of 15 with 79 yards two passing touchdowns and one interception. Over his three seasons in Oxford as a backup first to Bo Wallace and then to Kelly, Buchanan had 171 yards passing on 20 of 35 passing with two scores and two picks.

Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze noted Buchanan’s parting of ways on Twitter posting, “Ryan is one of the finest young men I have ever coached. Quality individual & family. His leadership will be missed!”

The Rebels said goodbye to quarterback DeVante Kincade in December after he transferred to Grambling.

Per an interview with Ole Miss Spirit, Buchanan was tempted to transfer but decided to stay in Oxford stating, “The reason I got up at 5:30 a.m. four days a week for three years was to play football at Ole Miss. I would not take that kind of dedication with me anywhere else.”

The Rebels have talent on campus under center but behind Kelly very little experience or depth. Beyond Patterson, Ole Miss has redshirt freshman Jason Pellerin as the only three scholarship quarterbacks on the team.

Photo credit: clarionledger.com; No. 9 Ryan Buchanan drops back to pass against Arkansas.