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(UWIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. -- Coach Jeff Tedford announced Tuesday that James Montgomery, heir apparent to the starting tailback position on the University of California at Berkely football team, has left the program just two weeks before the team is scheduled to begin spring practice.
"James Montgomery asked for his release and I granted it," Tedford said in a statement Tuesday. "He felt like there would be a better situation for him somewhere else."
Montgomery saw action in 13 games for the Bears last season, compiling 171 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. He also caught four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
As the No. 2 running back on Cal's depth chart in 2007, and with sophomore sensation Jahvid Best expected to miss spring practices as he continues to recover from a hip injury sustained last season, Montgomery looked to be the Bears' No. 1 option at tailback entering the spring.
Montgomery did not issue an official statement, and where he will play next season is unknown. If he transfers to another Division I school, Montgomery will have to sit out the 2008 season and would have two remaining years of eligibility.
"Fortunately for us, running back is a position with a lot of depth," Tedford continued in his statement. "We feel great about our talent at that position with Jahvid Best, Shane Vereen, Tracy Slocum and Covaughn Deboskie."
Best was considered to be Montgomery's most likely challenger for the top running back spot during the summer and the 2008 season, after rushing for 221 yards on 29 carries in 2007.
Vereen, also a highly touted recruit out of high school, redshirted last season. Deboskie graduated from high school in Chandler, Ariz., a semester early in order to join the Cal program in the spring.
Montgomery, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, was rated as the nation's 14th-best prospect at running back coming out of Cordova High in Rancho Cordova, Calif., and was one of nine four-star recruits for Tedford's 2006 recruiting class.
(C) 2008 Daily Californian via U-WIRE
