Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

Western Kentucky redshirt sophomore quarterback K.J. Black is free to transfer to another school, coach David Elson announced in a statement Monday.

The Louisville Courier-Journal wrote Monday morning that Black was considering a transfer to an FCS team after being benched by Elson for last Saturday's game against Virginia Tech. Black's father, Kenneth, told the Courier-Journal that Elson told his son last Wednesday that "K.J. needs to find another school" and that he'd be released from his scholarship.

Elson said in the statement released by Western Kentucky that two schools already have inquired about Black, but did not mention them by name.

"I met with K.J. and his family last week, and I met with K.J. again today," Elson said. "We wish K.J. all the best and thank him for his contributions to our program as a student-athlete over the last three years."

Black started three games this year and was 1-2, though he suffered a dislocated left shoulder in the first half of the team's win over Eastern Kentucky. He completed 27 of 48 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 68 yards on 33 attempts.

Last season, Black played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman, starting twice. He was 88-of-134 for 1,007 yards passing with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also had 104 rushes for 324 rushing yards and two touchdowns.