Linebacker Jordan Harris leaving Iowa State

AMES — The Iowa State football program already has suffered losses to its linebackers group this off-season with Luke Knott and Levi Peters ending their careers prematurely.

The latest loss might be the biggest so far for that position.

Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell announced red-shirt senior Jordan Harris is leaving the program and will transfer to another school. Harris will qualify as a graduate transfer this fall and expressed a desire to play closer to his home of Clarksdale, Miss.

'Iowa State helped me become the man I am today,' Harris said in a release. 'From my teammates, the old coaching staff to the new coaching staff, everybody has played a big role in helping me. I am happy I got my degree from Iowa State, which will open up many more doors for me in the future. I want to finish out my final year where my family can be more involved.'

Harris red-shirted his initial season at Iowa State in 2014 — after entering the program as a junior college transfer from Copiah-Lincoln CC — and started thriving last season. The 6-foot, 225-pounder was third on the team in tackles (70) and fifth in tackles for loss (5.0).

With former coach Paul Rhoads' 3-4 defensive scheme, Harris was one of two ISU defenders to start all 12 games while posting a season-high nine tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss against Northern Iowa. Harris was also named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week after the Cyclones' 24-0 win against Texas.

Iowa State is expected to make a switch in defenses that will base out of a 4-2-5 look, which puts more emphasis on the line of scrimmage and secondary.

'Jordan has done everything we have asked him to do since the first day I got here,' Campbell said in a statement. 'He's a great person and a great teammate. In our meetings recently, Jordan expressed interest in finishing out his career closer to his family. I have the utmost respect for Jordan and we will fully support him in his decision.'

Iowa State also recognized the departures of red-shirt freshman quarterback Dominic De Lira and senior defensive lineman Terry Ayeni on Wednesday.

De Lira sat out his only season in Ames and would have competed to be the backup quarterback to Joel Lanning. The Cyclones added QBs Jacob Park and Zeb Noland after Campbell was hired last winter.

Ayeni is forgoing his final season without playing a snap in Ames. He red-shirted in 2014 after suffering a knee injury that summer and was a squad member last season.