Phillip Bates gave zero hints that he was planning to quit the football team, and that’s what makes his decision so puzzling to any outsider looking in.

Usually something like this happens to the men’s basketball program, but now it’s the football team that is left wondering why one of its best players is leaving town.

It was clear that fellow quarterback Austen Arnaud was starting to pull away as the feature quarterback in the Cyclones’ offense, as was evident in Arnaud taking every snap in the Kansas game, but Bates always seemed like the kind of person who was up to the challenge.

When most players come up for post-game interviews, they’re dressed in their gray sweats and look like they’re about to go home and pass out. Not Bates. He was always full of pep, and after games, he dressed up in dress pants and a suit coat. On one occasion, he sported a huge red kiss from his mom on his cheek.

His departure could also affect this season’s recruiting. Bates was a great ambassador of ISU football and many weekends would host recruits on official visits. It certainly doesn’t look good for an interested recruit when the guy who they stayed with just quit the team.

The timing of Bates’ departure is what confuses me the most. The whole coaching staff insisted as late as this week that Bates was still going to see snaps at quarterback this season. Even if Bates didn’t believe he would see the field with Arnaud playing so well in front of him, he was still only one injury away from starting the rest of the season. (Knock on wood.)

Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates are not best friends, but in front of the public eye they seemed to have a very healthy relationship. They had a 13-step high-five that took more time to finish than a Hickory Park steak.

Bates has made it clear by his move that he was not interested in switching to wide receiver where he saw time as a true freshman. It is also possible that Bates could have been passed up on the depth chart next season by redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller, and maybe that’s another reason why Bates decided to jump ship.

Bates is clearly a good enough athlete to land on his feet somewhere as a quarterback. There is no program in FBS college football that will hand him the starting quarterback job, so he’ll be in the same position at another school — sitting on the bench.

I don’t know the whole back story on why Bates decided to leave, but whatever locker room he ends up in, having the reputation as a quitter is never a good thing.