The Korn Story will end with a transfer

CLEMSON - When Willy Korn committed to Clemson in August 2005 - days before the start of his junior year at Byrnes High School - he was being trumpeted as the centerpiece of the program's future.

Four and a half years later, Korn is exiting without the expected revelry.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback announced Wednesday he will transfer from Clemson after the spring semester in search of a starting job.

Korn is on pace to graduate in May with a degree in communications studies.

"I was very blessed and fortunate to have had the opportunity to play football and go to school here," Korn said in a statement. "Things didn't work out for me on the football field the way I had hoped. However, with two years of eligibility remaining, I really want to go where I can contribute as a starter."

Korn will continue to practice with the team and will be available for the Dec. 27 Music City Bowl against Kentucky.

Sources have indicated Korn's camp has had contact with FCS programs. By completing his degree first, it opens the door for Korn to transfer to a FBS school without having to sit out a year, per NCAA rules.

Korn has two years of eligibility remaining and could seek an NCAA waiver to play immediately - like former Duke basketball player Greg Paulus did at Syracuse - if he desires to enroll in a master's degree program Clemson does not offer.

"Willy Korn has set a great example for every student-athlete in our program," coach Dabo Swinney said in the release. "He has represented this institution in a positive manner in everything he has done the last three years. That includes his work ethic in practice and in games, and the way he has carried himself around his teammates and as a student.

"We met near the end of the season and obviously he wants to transfer to a school where he can be the starter. I understand his decision."

Clemson student assistant coach Stanley Hunter, a former Tigers linebacker who was forced to give up football this year for health reasons, said in an e-mail to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal that he always will support his former Byrnes teammate.

"I love Willy with all I have," Hunter said. "He's been a brother to me and has stood beside me ever since we met, and I have the highest respect for him. He's paved the way for so many kids coming up back home in Duncan and has given hope to so many people."

Korn appeared in six games as redshirt freshman Kyle Parker's backup and likely would have faced an uphill battle this spring fending off freshman Tajh Boyd for the second-string job.

That was hardly the scenario most envisioned when Korn enrolled early in the spring of 2007, presumably to vie with Cullen Harper for the starting role.

Harper was given the starting job immediately that spring by former offensive coordinator Rob Spence, which Korn later said he viewed as a broken promise of being given the opportunity to compete for the job.

Harper set numerous Clemson records that season. In the third game, Korn sustained an injury to his right, throwing shoulder. He later disclosed having a broken collarbone and was granted a medical redshirt.

Korn went through the final games of Tommy Bowden's tenure last season as Harper's backup. But he was tabbed the starter of Swinney's first game as interim coach, only to hurt the shoulder again early in the first quarter.

In December, he had surgery to repair a frayed labrum and remove bone fragments from the shoulder that he said were remnants from his first injury.

As a result, Korn overhauled his throwing mechanics during the offseason but was beaten out for the starting job by Parker in August.

Entering this season, Korn said he had been "guaranteed" to play in every game by Swinney, which the coach later disputed as a matter of "interpretation."

Korn saw action in the Middle Tennessee opener but did not play the next week at Georgia Tech. He was held out of a close game two weeks later against TCU after both of his brief stints were marred by bad things happening to Clemson's offense - some his fault, some not.

He has appeared in two of the past seven games - wins against Coastal Carolina and N.C. State. For the season, he completed 12 of 17 passes for 90 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

After the Coastal Carolina game - his final appearance at Death Valley - Korn intimated that he had come to grips with his role and was intent on enjoying the season instead of allowing the frustration to bother him.

It was the latest sign pointing in the direction of Wednesday's announcement, which confirmed a message he stated in September:

"It's not easy watching football games, it's really not."