Wide receiver Quinta Funderburk has been granted release from Syracuse University.
Richard Morgan, Funderburk‚Äôs high school coach, told Syracuse.com, ‚ÄúHe’s got his release from the school. He‚Äôs got one year left to play. He still wants to play.‚Äù
Morgan said that Funderburk approached him about a month ago and told him he was looking to leave the school.
After not playing in his freshman year at Arkansas, Funderburk transferred to Syracuse. A four-star recruit out of high school, there were high expectations surrounding the wide out when he came to the Carrier Dome. Many thought he would develop into the Orange’s biggest threat on the offensive side of the ball. In 2013, however, he had only three catches for a total of 50 yards. In 2014 he didn’t catch a single pass. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s three catches over the course of three years. Now that he’s left Syracuse, he’ll be looking for his third school in four years.
The Orange won’t be losing any production by letting Funderburk go, and has a lot to look forward to at the wide receiver position. Syracuse still has its 2014 receiving touchdown leader Steve Ishmael (it’s easy to forget he was only a freshman last year), and will only lose one wide receiver to graduation in Jarrod West. The team will look to build on the potential it saw last season.
For Funderburk, it’s more a story of what could have been than a story of what was. In his two seasons at Syracuse the once highly regarded recruit wasn’t able to become what recruiters thought he could. To be blunt, he didn’t pan out. Hopefully he’ll be able to find his footing at his next school.
‚ÄúI want him to have that moment,‚Äù Morgan told syracuse.com. ‚ÄúHe was a good player for us. Hopefully we’re going to be able to find that fit.”
Funderburk is still taking classes at Syracuse and will graduate in May, which means he won’t have to sit out a year wherever he ends up.
Posted:  Nathan Dickinson
