<img style= hasn't been with the Kansas State football team since spring practice. Since then the senior offensive lineman has picked up his degree and returned home to California to be with his family and work out at his old junior college.

Though just because Foketi isn't playing with Kansas State, that doesn't mean he is finished playing football at Kansas State. After missing most of the 2011 season due to a knee injury, Foketi took a medical redshirt and has one year of eligibility remaining. A year he doesn't want to spend at Kansas State, as Foketi says he requested a transfer from the school two months ago.

A request that is yet to be granted by Kansas State.

“I want to move on and close this chapter in my life, but they aren’t letting me. They are blocking me and have denied my transfer request,” Foketi told The Wichita Eagle. “I have no hard feelings toward them, but it’s just the way it is. If someone isn’t comfortable somewhere they should have the right to leave. I don’t know how they are able to hold me.”

Foketi says his initial request was denied and after he appealed the decision he was told by athletic director John Currie and coach Bill Snyder earlier this week that his appeal was denied as well. According to Foketi, Kansas State is of the opinion that Foketi owes the school another year of football.

“They were saying that I owe it to K-State to play another year for them,” Foketi said. “It was something dumb like that. I got hurt and they gave me my year back and now they want me to play my senior year for them. They say I owe them.

“Well, I’ve never redshirted before. This was my first redshirt year. It’s not like they had to fight for it. I’ve got my degree. I don’t see what else there is to do at Kansas State.”

Now, I can certainly understand both sides to this situation. Foketi's is easy, he was at Kansas State to play football and get a degree, but now that he has his degree he just doesn't want to play football in Manhattan any longer. For Kansas State, even though Foketi was hurt last season, the school did keep him on scholarship and continue to pay for his education, helping him get that degree.

So, naturally, the school would like something in return.

The kicker is, while I certainly understand why Kansas State would like another season from Foketi, if he doesn't want to be there I see no reason to force him to be. Foketi will either stay in California away from the team and not be allowed to play, making Kansas State look bad from a public relations perspective, or he'll return to Manhattan and be an unhappy member of the football team, which certainly wouldn't help the locker room.

It's a lose-lose situation for Kansas State to force him to stay, and that's why it should just let him go.