Sophomore Noah Jefferson has decided to leave the USC football program. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound defensive tackle confirmed his decision via text on Tuesday night.

"Yeah, I'm transferring due to personal reasons," Jefferson said. "I am looking for a new school of choice."

Jefferson declined to comment further.

A USC spokesperson confirmed Jefferson was leaving the program.

"I can confirm he will not be with us next year," he said.

Last season as a backup defensive tackle Jefferson appeared in all 14 games with one start against Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl. He finished the season with 23 total tackles.

With no returning starters on the defensive line Jefferson was expected to be a mainstay for USC in 2016. But after starting in the opener against Alabama and accumulating 3 total tackles, Jefferson never saw the field again. He suffered a sprained shoulder against the Crimson Tide and later returned to his home in Las Vegas for what was described as "personal reasons."

Jefferson has not practiced with the team since returning from Dallas for the opener.

In late September head coach Clay Helton announced the he would hold out Jefferson until November in order for him to catch up on academics.

“We’re always going to put academics first,” Helton told reporters, “and make sure he’s fully healthy.”

Jefferson showed tremendous potential and would have likely played a major role for the Trojans in 2017.

Stay tuned to USCFootball.com for more updates on Jefferson and the bowl fate of Trojan football team.



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Ryan Abraham has been the publisher of USCFootball.com since 1996. You can follow him on Twitter at @InsideTroy or email him at ryan@uscfootball.com.