Iowa State Senior linebacker Jordan Harris, a Mississippi native, announced Thursday that he intends to play his final season at a school closer to home as a graduate transfer.

Harris’s departure is a big blow to the Cyclones defense, which ranked 97th in the country last season with 32.7 points allowed per game.

Harris played two seasons at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi. He sat out his first season at Iowa State as a redshirt before starting all 12 games in 2015. Harris had 70 tackles last season and was expected to anchor the middle of the Cyclones defense.