Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda enters name in the transfer portal

Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda’s career at Nebraska has come to an end: The Huskers receiver has entered his name in the transfer portal, he said via Twitter on Tuesday morning.

“First, I’d like to thank Husker Nation and the University of Nebraska football program for accepting me into this community with open arms,” Garcia-Castaneda wrote. “The fans of Lincoln have not only treated myself, but also my parents with the upmost respect and love since I enrolled here. I want to thank the coaches, academic staff, and everyone else involved for giving me this opportunity to be here. After the Oklahoma game, I discussed with my family that it was best for me to redshirt for the rest of this season.

“With continues conversations and prayers, I believe it is in my best interest to continue my collegiate career elsewhere. This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is necessary to continue to grow as an athlete and find a home where I can showcase my abilities in the best way possible. I have officially entered my name into the Transfer Portal, and will have 2 years of eligibility remaining after this 2022 season. I’d like to give a final thanks to my teammates for bringing me in and having my back since my first day here. I wish this team nothing but the best for the rest of this season and in the future. Thank you Nebraska football and Husker Nation.”

Despite being unavailable in spring ball due to an injury, Garcia-Castaneda had a memorable Nebraska football debut with five catches for 120 yards and one touchdown against Northwestern in Ireland. He was even on the receiving end of that backyard-football play from quarterback Casey Thompson that resulted in a 58-yard completion on third-and-long.

However, since that game in Dublin, Garcia-Castaneda’s production and targets have fallen off a cliff as he recorded just one reception for no yards in the next three games. After getting 34 snaps and seven targets against Northwestern, he had 23 snaps and no targets against North Dakota, 24 snaps and two targets against Georgia Southern and 25 snaps and one target against Oklahoma.

Garcia-Castaneda sat out the Indiana game and wasn’t seen on the sidelines the following week at Rutgers.

On Tuesday, Garcia-Castaneda entered his name in the transfer portal. Because he’s only played in four games, he’s able to use this season as a redshirt year. Garcia-Castaneda was one of three transfer receivers to enter the program last offseason along with Trey Palmer from LSU and Marcus Washington from Texas.

After a 2019 true freshman season at Saddleback College in which he caught 56 passes for 953 yards and 13 touchdowns, Garcia-Castaneda got an opportunity to play FBS football and transferred to New Mexico State. The 6-foot, 185-pounder spent two seasons in Las Cruces, where he hauled in a combined 42 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns.

If Garcia-Castaneda’s Husker career is indeed over — players can always take their names out of the portal, like Pheldarius Payne did last year before returning and transferring to Virginia Tech — he’ll end it with five catches for 120 yards and one score.

According to his Twitter account, Garcia-Castaneda was offered by Arizona, Utah and Iowa State among others before picking the Huskers in December.