Andre McDonald, who left the University of Minnesota after being one of the top recruits in the 2012 incoming class, has dropped out of Wisconsin-River Falls, where he had planned to play Division III football.

"Andre, for personal reasons, decided not to play football at UWRF this year," said sports information director Jim Theis in an email. "He is not enrolled at UWRF for the fall, 2014 semester."

A star athlete at Hopkins High School, McDonald was twice suspended by Gophers coach Jerry Kill for drug-related issues, missing the entire 2013 season.

In January, he announced that he would transfer to River Falls, about 35 miles west of the Twin Cities.

Of the Gophers, McDonald said at the time: "They tried to help me a lot. They are all good guys. There's not one of them that I have anything negative to say about. They always let you know they were there, but we're kids. We don't utilize that option."

UW-River Falls, which opens its season on Sept. 6 against St. John's, has a 3-37 record over the last four seasons, including a current 17-game losing streak.