Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana QB cites concussions in stepping away from football: 'I need my brain'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Indiana quarterback Zander Diamont has decided to forgo his final season of eligibility and acknowledged Saturday that his decision is partially based on concerns about head injuries.

Diamont, a junior, will graduate from IU in the spring but has one season of NCAA eligibility remaining. His final game will be the Hoosiers’ bowl game.

“To be honest, I’ve had a lot of concussions in my career, a lot of which were in high school,” Diamont said Saturday when asked to explain his decision to walk away. “With the way that I play and my size, I’m not going to start being the guy who slides and steps out of bounds. It’s just not my style. If I’m going to go out, I’m going to go out my way. I’m not going to alter the way that I play in order to treat that side of the deal.

• A.J. Tarpley: Why I walked away from football at 23

“I think for my safety and my future—I’m not going to the NFL—I need my brain. So that was the decision.”

Diamont, a telecommunications major, is the son of two actors and said he hopes to return to his native Los Angeles to work in the entertainment industry.

This article originally appeared on