Jacquil Taylor came in with Purdue's four outgoing seniors and will leave with them as well.
Concluding a Boilermaker career marred by repeated injury, the senior big man announced Wednesday he'll leave the program as a transfer.
On pace to graduate this spring, Taylor will presumably be free to enroll elsewhere immediately eligible as a graduate transfer, perhaps with essentially two years of eligibility remaining.
Officially, he'll be a fifth-year senior next year, but the fact he's missed what amounts to two full seasons at Purdue due to injury should make him a strong candidate for an eligibility waiver that would grant him a year back.
Taylor enrolled at Purdue alongside classmates Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas, P.J. Thompson and Dakota Mathias, but lost his freshman season to the residual impact of a major ankle injury suffered in high school.
He returned just in time to encounter A.J. Hammons, Haas and Caleb Swanigan ahead of him on the depth chart, then broke his foot the following year, missing another season.
His time appeared to have come this summer, when he played well at the World University Games, but he was held out of practice for the entirety of October in the preseason and was passed over by the emergence of redshirt freshman Matt Haarms.
Next season, he'd have projected as Purdue's No. 2 center behind Haarms, but freshmen Emmanuel Dowuona and Trevion Williams will join the position, as well, with more additions potentially to come.
Taylor would have been Purdue's longest-tenured player next season. Now, Ryan Cline and Grady Eifert remain as the Boilermakers' lone seniors, barring any one-season additions.
Taylor posted the following to his Instagram account Wednesday:
After a lot of thinking and talking it over with my family and friends I have made the decision to transfer from Purdue University to play for another school. I love the school and the people in the school as well, but I also have to think about what’s best for me and my future as well. I have nothing bad to say about Purdue at all. I want to thank the fans, JPC, and all the people I have to come to love and respect. I will miss each and everyone of y’all and i hope there is no bad blood between us. I am proud to say that I was able to be a boilermaker for have the chance to graduate as well. Even though we are going out separate ways Purdue is a school that I will always be fond of and will love and respect
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