Dallas Sealey, the Wildcats’ starting quarterback in 2016 and the majority of last season, has transfered to Tarleton State University and will use his final year of eligibility at the public Div. 2 university in Stephenville.
Sealey yielded the starting job to redshirt freshman Luke Anthony after the Wildcats’ 56-21 loss to Southeastern Louisiana. At that time, Sealey had recorded 1720 yards passing with six touchdowns and six interceptions.
Sealey did not travel with the team the next week to Northwestern State and said he had very little contact with the team from that point on.
“I don’t think we saw eye-to-eye from Day One, and obviously deeper into the season, it got worse,” Sealey said. “And we didn’t have very good communication. There was a lot of miscommunication between the two sides, and eventually it didn’t work out.”
Sealey did not practice, attend or play in any of the Wildcats’ final three games of the season. Anthony started the next two games against Northwestern State and Sam Houston State, and senior Kade Munden started in the season finale against Central Arkansas after Anthony was injured in the SHSU game.
Lance Fleming, associate director of athletics for media relations, said in an email two days after the season had ended that Sealey had been dismissed from the team.
“Dallas was suspended for a violation of team rules, and the reason he didn’t play in the last three games or practice for them was because of that suspension,” Fleming said in the email.
Neither Fleming nor head football coach Adam Dorrell would comment on Sealey’s decision to transfer.
After his dismissal, Sealey said he was cleared to transfer at the conclusion of the season by Director of Athletics Lee De Leon.
Sealey received offers from schools in several different states, and said he initially thought he would transfer to the University of Central Oklahoma. But a call and visit from Todd Whitten, Tarleton State’s head football coach, convinced him to transfer to Tarleton State.
“This offense here runs a lot of RPO’s, it’s real spread out, a lot of QB run game, and I watched some film while I visited and fell in love with it,” Sealey said. “And so I pulled the trigger on [Tarleton State]. It’s just a lot better fit for me overall.”
For Sealey to play in the upcoming football season, NCAA regulations require him to transfer to a Div. 2 school or smaller. A player that has formerly played Div. 1 football must sit out a year if he decides to play at a different Div. 1 school and still have eligibility.
Sealey said he is enrolled at Tarleton State as of the beginning of the spring semester and looks to finish his undergraduate degree before playing football next fall.
With national signing day approaching Feb. 7, representatives of Tarleton State declined to comment on Sealey’s decision to transfer.
