McCormick, who was a redshirt junior, met with coaches on Sunday afternoon, after he told coaches in a Saturday evening conversation that he was having thoughts of leaving the team.

When reached by The Tribune on Saturday, Guy said that McCormick was involved with a few business ventures that he was doing well with. As such, the commitment of playing college football may have been too much.

"Jase has had some major life changes," Guy said in his statement. "His focus is different and he's not going to play football anymore. He's just going to stress his academics and graduate in December. We respect his decision, we know it's been a difficult one for him and one that he has thought a great deal about. We're disappointed to see him leave and wish him the best."

McCormick, who played in four games last season, entered fall camp on even par with Sean Setzer and Diondre Borel for the starting quarterback position. However, McCormick failed to show for the team's first official practice on Saturday. McCormick, who led Northridge High to consecutive state championships, was the Class 5A MVP in 2001.

Attempts to reach McCormick were unsuccessful. McCormick's absence means that true freshman Exavier Johnson will likely enter the mix. Guy said that he would make a decision on a starter the week before USU's season opener at UNLV.

tjones@sltrib.com