Ex-Duke QB Thomas Sirk Transferring To East Carolina
Former Duke signal-caller Thomas Sirk is transferring to East Carolina. He will spend his final year of eligibility with the Pirates.
Former Duke signal-caller Thomas Sirk is transferring to East Carolina. He will spend his final year of eligibility with the Pirates.
Thomas Sirk has a new home, and it’s not too far away from Durham.
The former Duke quarterback announced via Twitter on Friday that he is transferring to East Carolina, a program being overseen by former Blue Devils offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery, who helped direct Sirk’s most successful years in Durham.
Along with former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire, Sirk had been one of the more intriguing graduate transfers on college football’s free agent market after deciding to walk away from the Blue Devils. He earned his undergraduate degree last May and is on track to complete a graduate degree this spring. He will be eligible immediately for the Pirates, though health has always been an issue for the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder.
Sirk remains on the road to recovery from his third Achilles injury, which he sustained last August. He was granted a sixth season of eligibility after he suffered a partial tear of his left Achilles tendon before the 2016 season began. He missed the 2013 campaign after suffering a ruptured right Achilles tendon in April of that year.
The Florida native started 12 games in 2015 and went 251-of-427 passing for 2,625 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for a team-best 803 yards and eight scores on 163 attempts. His yardage total ranks as the second-highest single-season total in school history. He finished that campaign by guiding Duke to a 44-41 overtime win over Indiana in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, being named the game’s co-MVP along with running back Shaun Wilson as the Blue Devils won their first bowl game since 1961.
The decision by Sirk to transfer doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as Daniel Jones enjoyed a nice redshirt freshman season as the new Blue Devils starting quarterback and was one of the bright spots of the team’s 4-8 season.
For ECU, it’s a very nice addition because the team is thin on game experience at quarterback with junior Gardner Minshew having started just twice in his career. Adding a proven commodity at QB at this point in the offseason is a really nice “get” for Montgomery, who also has redshirt freshman Reid Herring and true freshman Kingsley Ifedi at QB.
