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Zach Calzada pens farewell note to Texas A&M after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle•12/13/21•

NikkiChavanelle

Zach Calzada pens farewell note to Texas A&M after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal
John Bunch/Icon Sportswire

Texas A&M starting quarterback Zach Calzada decided to put an end to his time in College Station this week. He posted a farewell message to Aggie Nation on Monday after the news broke that he is in the NCAA Transfer Portal.

“I have THE MOST love for Texas A&M, my coach’s, teammates, and anybody who has been a part of this process,” Calzada wrote. “From the bottom of my heart…Thank you to the 12th man.”

Calzada, a redshirt sophomore, started 10 games this season in the place of Haynes King who suffered a season-ending leg injury in the first game. He’ll have immediate eligibility at his next program as this will be his first time transferring. King, a redshirt freshman, is likely to regain his starting job for the Aggies come 2022.

The Buford, Georgia, native threw for 2,185 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions this year for Jimbo Fisher’s 8-4 squad. Calzada’s season completion percentage at 56.1% ranked 13 out of the SEC’s 14 starting quarterbacks.

Coming out of Lanier High School, Calzada was a top-500 prospect with 25 Division-I offers.

Calzada, Elko depart Texas A&M

Jimbo Fisher is not just losing his starting quarterback this week, he’s also on the hunt for a new defensive coordinator after the departure of Mike Elko. The Aggies’ DC took the open head coaching job at Duke, as announced by the program on Saturday.

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Elko has been a defensive coordinator for seven programs. Bowling Green was his first post at the FBS level in 2009. Since then, he has been at Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher pulled Elko away from South Bend and let him retool the Aggie defense. His unit was one of the best in the country this season. They finished third in scoring defense with 15.9 points given up per game.

Elko has been behind the No. 1 recruiting class in the country as well, helping pull in five defensive players from the top 100 on the On3 Consensus.