Roc Thomas will not be playing for the Auburn Tigers this fall.

Head coach Gus Malzahn announced the junior running back's transfer Tuesday afternoon.

"Roc Thomas has asked for his release from Auburn and I have granted his request," Malzahn said, according to a university press release. "We wish him nothing but the best moving forward."

The 5-foot-10, 203-pounder is a former five-star prospect from Oxford who had yet to break out as a star in Auburn's backfield. The coaching staff stated numerous times this spring Thomas was in the mix for the starting running back job, though rising senior Jovon Robinson is considered the favorite.

Rumblings of Thomas' departure swirled last December while the Tigers were preparing for the Birmingham Bowl against Memphis as Thomas posted cryptic messages on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. Malzahn shot down the speculation by calling the rumors "completely false."

Rumors intensified last week as various reports began to emerge that Thomas was eyeing a transfer. He took to Instagram Thursday and shared a photo of himself in his Auburn uniform with the message "I love it, I swear I do."

Roc Thomas' Instagram post from 12 minutes ago pic.twitter.com/Grv9pIbJWh — 𝚆𝚎𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚛 (@WesleySinor) May 26, 2016

The Tigers had hoped to take advantage of Thomas' versatility this spring by working him at both running back and wide receiver.

"Roc's a guy that had a good spring," Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee told AL.com earlier this month in Brentwood, Tennessee. "He's a guy we're going to try to be more versatile with. We think he's a weapon. He's got great hands. He's probably got as good of hands as anyone we have on our team. He can obviously run the football. We're going to try to make him a very versatile playmaker. We'll see how that goes."

Thomas earned the starting job for Auburn's season opener against Louisville last fall, but went down with an injury in the second quarter. He was hampered by more injuries throughout the season and logged 261 rushing yards and one touchdown on 43 carries with 11 catches for 200 yards and another score in 12 appearances.

He appeared in 12 games as a true freshman at Auburn in 2014 and started against Georgia and Alabama. He rushed 43 times for 214 yards and two touchdowns while adding six catches for 27 yards.

After rushing for 2,211 yards and 32 touchdowns in his senior season at Oxford in 2013, Thomas was named "Mr. Football" by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

Thomas becomes the 12th player with eligibility remaining to leave Auburn's football program this offseason. Check out the other 11 in AL.com's slideshow below.

Stay tuned to AL.com as this story develops.