Quarterback Anthony Russo announced on Twitter Thursday morning that he would be entering the transfer portal and foregoing his final year of eligibility at Temple.

Russo, a graduate student, earned an extra season thanks to the NCAA’s decision to make the 2020 season an eligibility-free year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

The three-year starting quarterback played in just three of Temple’s seven-game shortened schedule this fall. He was sidelined after a 41-29 loss to Memphis due to an injury in his AC joint in his right throwing shoulder that forced him to miss games against Tulane and SMU.

Before he was able to return and potentially play at UCF on Nov. 14, Russo entered the team’s COVID protocol, which left him unable to play or practice for another 14 days.

With Temple’s final game against Cincinnati being canceled by the American Athletic Conference due to complications concerning positive COVID-19 tests with both programs, Russo never got the chance to retake the field.

In the three games Russo did play at Navy, at home against USF and on the road at Memphis, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Archbishop Wood High School completed 68.1 percent of his pass attempts (95 of 135) for 868 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

Russo’s four-year tenure at Temple saw a revolving door at head coach. He was originally recruited by Matt Rhule, named a starter under Geoff Collins and dealt with the ramifications of Manny Diaz leaving after just 18 days. It wasn’t until under current Temple head coach Rod Carey succeeded Diaz that Russo played and started in the same offense for consecutive seasons.

With Russo headed for the transfer portal, that leaves the Owls with a significant question mark at the quarterback position. As of now, Trad Beatty, Re-al Mitchell and Matt Duncan are returning, but that could be subject to change. Marinao Valenti, a transfer from Northern Illinois, will be eligible in 2021 after sitting out the 2020 season. Justin Lynch will sign as a member of the Class of 2021 on Dec. 16, but he will be a 17-year-old freshman. There’s also true freshman walk-on Kamal Gray, who was pressed into duty as a starter against ECU with Russo, Beatty and Mitchell hurt and Duncan suspended at the time.

Russo leaves the program third all-time in completions (536), passing yards (6,287) and touchdowns (44).