Senior defensive back Josh Mims will leave the team, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer announced after practice on Tuesday.

“He came in and decided he was going to hang up his cleats,” Shafer said after discussing tight end Josh Parris’ recently announced knee surgery. “He’s got 22 credit hours to graduate. He’s going to try and knock them out this semester and it’s in his best interest financially, so tough deal for him and same thing, keeping him in our thoughts.

“He’s got his grandmother in the hospital, it’s a tough time for him. We’ll just keep our thoughts and prayers behind Josh Mims as well.”

Mims, who went to nearby Nottingham High School,  joined the Orange before the 2013 season after starting his college career at Buffalo State. He played in 10 games and recorded 25 solo tackles in his freshman year with the Bengals and didn’t play in any games for Syracuse last season.

The Mims announcement comes a day after Shafer detailed the departures of freshman punter Evan Jakubowski and sophomore cornerback Alex Schoen from the program. Shafer said that Jakubowski needed to get in better shape and Schoen, like Mims, left the team for financial reasons.