It appears the Rob Bolden era at Penn State will end as startlingly as it began, as his dad told the Altoona Mirror that his son “doesn’t want to play for Penn State anymore.”

Penn State’s first true freshman quarterback to start a season during the Joe Paterno era will transfer, multiple media outlets reported Sunday.

Lions247 was the first to report the news, one day after Bolden didn’t play in Penn State’s Outback Bowl loss to Florida.

Penn State spokesman Jeff Nelson said in a text message that the team would not comment on the situation Sunday night.

Calls made to the Bolden family were not returned as of Sunday night. Bolden’s father, Robert Sr., spoke with The Altoona Mirror earlier in the day, saying the decision was made before the game. His not playing in the bowl game only reinforced that decision.

“He doesn’t want to be there anymore,” Bolden’s father, told the Mirror. “Penn State, at this point, does not seem to be the right fit for him. I guess at the end of the day, Penn State has to do what Penn State feels is best for their program, and Robert Bolden has to do the same. He decided he doesn’t want to play for Penn State anymore, so he’s looking to move on.”

One source from outside the team, but who knows the situation said he was told “Bolden is already gone.”

After he suffered a concussion against Minnesota on Oct. 23, Bolden was replaced by redshirt sophomore Matt McGloin.

Bolden fully lost the starting spot after McGloin came in and led Penn State to a victory over Northwestern — Joe Paterno’s 400th win — in early November. Bolden played only sparingly during the rest of the season.

He did not see the field during the Outback Bowl loss to Florida, despite a school-record five interceptions thrown by McGloin.

“Clearly, the same principles to which he supposedly lost his job over aren’t the same principles that were in place [in the Outback Bowl], to say the least,” Bolden’s father told the Mirror.

At his informal end-of-season press conference Sunday morning, Joe Paterno said the one area he’d consider second-guessing the coaching staff is with his handling of Bolden.

“If I had to do it over again, I’d probably try and get Bolden in there a little bit because I think Bolden is a good prospect,” said Paterno, noting he wasn’t necessarily talking about the bowl game but rather the season as a whole. “He’s probably a little discouraged.”

Paterno said this before the reports on Bolden surfaced, but it was unclear whether Bolden had told the coaches by then.

Fellow quarterback, Kevin Newsome, also appears set to transfer after he did not travel to the Outback Bowl and did not participate in its preceding practices.

If the two once highly-touted recruits transfer, the Lions will be left with McGloin and Paul Jones, a freshman, who redshirted the 2010 season, to compete for the starting job in the spring.

In his freshman season as a Nittany Lion, Bolden threw five touchdowns and seven interceptions, while completing 58 percent of his passes.

His high school coach, George Porritt said he was unaware of Bolden’s intentions, but he expects to talk with Bolden this week and added that “it wouldn’t make sense for Rob to transfer.”