Sophomore was overtaken as the starter by true freshman, Brock Purdy

Iowa State redshirt sophomore Zeb Noland was absent from the sidelines during the football team's win against Texas Tech last weekend.

Two days later, he made it official that he has left the team and decided to transfer at the end of the semester. Cyclones coach Matt Campbell made the announcement Monday afternoon.

“I want to thank Zeb for his time at Iowa State,” Campbell said in a statement. “He notified me of his decision to transfer in order to find more playing time. I respect Zeb’s decision and we will assist him in his process of finding another school.”

Noland's decision comes on the heels of true freshman Brock Purdy taking over as starting quarterback the last two games. Noland, a Watkinsville, Ga. native, started four games this season, but was pulled in favor of Purdy after the first offensive series at Oklahoma State.

In five career starts — Noland started in a win against Baylor last season — he had a 60.2 percent completion rate, threw for 1,255 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions. His best performance came earlier this year in a loss to Oklahoma, where he was 25 of 36 passing for 360 yards and two touchdowns.

ISU enters the rest of the season with Purdy, senior Kyle Kempt — fresh off injury — and true freshman Re-al Mitchell as the quarterbacks on the depth chart. Kempt hasn't played since sustaining an MCL injury in the season opener and Mitchell has yet to see the field.

“I think we’ve got really good depth here whether Zeb chooses to be with us or not,” Campbell said after the game last week. “I think there are some really good players here and obviously we’ve got a senior leader that is one of the best leaders in our program.