Defensive back Maurice Smith from Alabama is looking to transfer to a new school. He graduated from Alabama on Saturday, August 6, and has one year of eligibility left. But he wants to spend that one more year of eligibility somewhere else, not Alabama. The problem is that Smith reportedly wants to transfer to Georgia, and the rules don’t allow players to transfer from one SEC school to another without the school’s approval. And Smith does not have the approval of Nick Saban to transfer to Georgia.
Saban has talked about it in the past, and when asked about it again on August 4, he said, “Nothing has changed. We support the SEC rule of not granting releases for guys to go to other SEC schools.” So clearly Saban has no interest in letting Smith go to Georgia. The reason Smith wants to go to Georgia is because his former defensive coordinator at Alabama, Kirby Smart, is now the head coach at Georgia. And Smart has spoken out on the whole situation.
When asked about the situation, Kirby Smart said that he will allow Georgia players to go as graduate transfers to SEC schools. But is he just saying that because he knows getting Smith would benefit his team? Because Smart wouldn’t allow undergraduate players to transfer to Miami to go be with Mark Richt.
According to a recent report, things got ugly between Alabama and Smith. In a letter, Smith wrote to Alabama’s appeal committee, Smith said, “On Friday, June 17, I arrived at the athletic facility locker room to find my locker cleaned out and all of my personal belongings in the trash. These personal items included my family photos, written goals, inspirational and sentimental items memorializing my deceased former friend, roommate and teammate, Altee Tenpenny, and items of personal value from my former teammates.”
Maybe Saban is just following by the rules the SEC has, but he is still wrong in his treatment of Smith. Smith is now a graduate and he should be allowed to go wherever he wants, just like coaches can choose to go wherever they want. And if what Smith said in his letter is true, it looks really bad for Alabama. So not only are they blocking him from transferring, but they are also treating him terrible during the process. It’s time for Saban to do the right thing and let the kid do what he wants to do and what will make him happy.
