Malik Zaire's days as a Notre Dame football player are over.
The school granted the senior quarterback his release Wednesday, according to an ESPN report.
For whom the soon-to-be graduate transfer will suit up next remains to be seen. Florida, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin are among the potential destinations, according multiple reports.
Michigan State had been on that list but Notre Dame reportedly blocked him from transferring there, and to any other school on the Irish's 2017 schedule except for North Carolina. The Irish and the Spartans play next season.
Zaire is expected to graduate in December and will immediately be eligible to play for his next school. He started three games for the Irish before breaking his right ankle during the second game of the 2015 season at Virginia.
Zaire began this season as a co-quarterback with DeShone Kizer for the opener against Texas but was benched in favor of Kizer during that game, a 50-47, double-overtime loss.
Zaire made his first start in the Music City Bowl and was named MVP of that victory against LSU.
He was 21-for-35 for 266 yards and a touchdown during the 2014 season. He was 58-for-98 for 816 yards and six touchdowns against no interceptions during his three seasons playing for the Irish. He also ran for 324 yards and two touchdowns.
His final pass in a Notre Dame uniform during Saturday's loss against USC resulted in a touchdown after he relieved an injured Kizer late in the fourth quarter.
Before the season, Zaire didn't hide his frustration about sharing the quarterback role with Kizer, saying he's spent his entire time at Notre Dame trying to prove himself.
"You deal with the cards you're dealt and make something happen," he said. "My whole goal is to turn chicken crap into chicken salad. We've got to make (coach Brian Kelly) right. The whole point is we want to win as a team and we want to be able to do this together."
The Irish finished 4-8.
Kizer has been projected as a high first-round pick and is awaiting feedback from the NFL draft advisory board. Should he leave, which is a good possibility, Brandon Wimbush, who redshirted this season, is expected to be the starting quarterback for the Irish next year.
