Derrick Moncrief

Auburn quarterback Jonathan Wallace (12) blocks defensive back Derrick Moncrief (24) Tuesday, March 25, 2014, during spring football practice at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Former Auburn safety Derrick Moncrief is headed to the Big XII.

Moncrief, who was granted his release from Auburn on May 15, has enrolled at Oklahoma State, school records show. An Oklahoma State spokesman was unable to immediately confirm Moncrief joined the Cowboys program and Moncrief did not respond to multiple inquiries from AL.com, though an Instagram post by the Prattville native indicates he is headed to Stillwater.

Moncrief, who will sit out the 2015 season, has one year of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-2, 221-pound safety transferred to Auburn in January 2014 from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where he was ranked the No. 1 JUCO safety by 247Sports.

He played in all 13 games, with one start, for the Tigers last season and recorded 27 tackles, with a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Analysis by ProFootballFocus showed Moncrief played 129 snaps in pass coverage and his 25.8 coverage snaps per target ranked first among SEC safeties last season.

Moncrief indicated playing time would be a major factor in his decision and Oklahoma State closed spring with saven safeties on the roster, including junior Jordan Sterns, the team's leading tackler (103) last season.

Moncrief's size was not ideal for new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's system. He made a position change in the spring from deep safety to Sam/Nickel, where he was behind true freshman Tim Irvin during spring practice, playing primarily with the second-team defense on A-Day as he totaled five tackles with one for loss and a pass breakup.

Still, Moncrief's departure, the fifth from Auburn's secondary since Muschamp's hiring, was surprising to defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson.

"After the exit interviews I didn't think he would leave," Robinson said last month.

The move made some waves nationally as well as Moncrief initially said he was banned from transferring to schools on Auburn's schedule the next two seasons, which an Auburn source confirmed, but later told media outlets, including AL.com, he was blocked from exploring a transfer to Michigan. A source at Auburn told AL.com Moncrief was not banned from transferring to Michigan, which has made inroads at Prattville, including holding a satellite camp on June 5 with Jim Harbaugh and his staff, which Moncrief attended as a visitor.