Nebraska's wide receiving corps is losing one of its young pieces.Â
Redshirt freshman Darien Chase, a class of 2019 signee who played in four games for the Huskers and appeared to be in the mix for playing time going forward, is in the NCAA's transfer portal.Â
Chase said Friday via Twitter that his time in the Nebraska program was "amazing."
However, "I've lost a lot of family members and I have struggled with mental health and depression for the past 6 or 7 years and these events put me in a place I can never fall to again, and it is the best decision for me and my family for me to transfer closer to home," he said. "This decision has been the hardest I've ever had to make because it has nothing to do with the program or football, and there is truly no place like Nebraska, and I'll always love GBR and all the love I've gotten just in the past year."
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A Vancouver, Washington, native, Chase caught just one pass for 13 yards in his four games of action during his first year on campus. He showed himself to be further along than fellow freshman receivers De'Mariyon Houston and Jamie Nance — both of whom also redshirted without appearing in a game.Â
NU added five scholarship wide receivers to the mix in the 2020 class and tried to add a sixth between the early and late signing dates, effectively overhauling the room.Â
The Huskers also made a change in the coaching ranks with the departure of offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Troy Walters, bringing in Matt Lubick for the same position.Â
Walters was Chase's primary recruiter and one of the reasons he left Union High in the Pacific Northwest and chose Nebraska over Utah, Boise State and others.Â
Chase was a four-star recruit out of high school, checking in as the No. 200 overall player in the nation according to 247Sports and the top player out of the state of Washington.Â
The Huskers now have 10 scholarship receivers on the roster, half of whom are part of the incoming class. The others: senior JD Spielman, junior Jaevon McQuitty, sophomore Wan'Dale Robinson plus Nance and Houston.Â
Chase is the first player from the 2019 recruiting class to leave Nebraska.Â
NU has 83 scholarship players, by the Journal Star's count, and has two spots remaining to use on players in the 2020 cycle.Â