Austin King never stepped under center in a game for the Indiana Hoosiers.
And now, the Alpharetta native never will.
King, a redshirt sophomore, transferred away from Indiana last week and has landed at Fordham University, an FCS school playing football in the Patriot League.
The 6-foot-2 righty is already on Fordham’s roster, wearing No. 8.
Joseph Di Bari, Fordham’s sports information director, confirmed that King is eligible to play right away since King made the transfer from an FBS school to an FCS one.
Schools in FBS and FCS both play Division I athletics in the NCAA, but FBS schools can offer more scholarships and are eligible for nationally televised bowl games. FCS schools participate in a single-elimination playoff where FBS schools make their playoff as determined by a ranking. FBS schools also must meet minimum attendance requirements.
King accepted a scholarship from Indiana out of Alpharetta High School. He spent two seasons there, redshirting for 2015. He didn’t see any game action in 2016 either. The Hoosiers went 12-14 as King watched from the sidelines.
Media reports said that coming into this season, King was battling for the backup quarterback job with a pair of freshman. On Friday, Indiana coach Tom Allen said that King would transfer, and King tweeted a statement shortly after.
"We really wish him the very, very best," Allen told the Indianapolis Star. "He's a fine young man."
King said it “saddened” him to leave Indiana and it was an “extremely difficult decision.”
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According to 247sports.com, King was a three-star prospect at Alpharetta and rated as the 30th best quarterback in his class across the nation. He held 15 scholarship offers, including ones from North Carolina State and University of Central Florida along with Yale, West Virginia, Georgia State and Harvard universities.
King threw 21 touchdowns as a senior in 2014 and led Alpharetta to a regional championship.
Fordham went 8-3 last season and opens its 2017 season on Friday at Army-West Point. With King on the roster, Fordham has six quarterbacks.
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