Almost 2 Years Since Maurice Smith Transfer Kerfluffle; How Do You Feel About It Now?

edwd58 said:

Did he ever graduate from UGA? I seem to recall a stipulation imposed that if he didn't do that there would be some type moratorium placed on UGA regarding future transfers. Of course I could have been daydreaming and this was part of the dream. I still place the blame on Kirby for getting the whole thing started and Sankey for not showing the leadership he was hired to provide.

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I think he's still in school.

I think This situation lies on SEC.... if they do it again, then it looks bad for SEC.

JustNeedMe81 said:

I think he's still in school.

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He was a special teams player for the Dolphins last year.

Smart probably broke the rules in recruiting him, but I don't think we should block grad transfers from going anywhere.

Exactly!

selmaborntidefan said:

Never gave it a thought at all. Don't now, either.

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https://thereadoptional.com/the-cho...ng-intra-conference-transferring-3f6d42722dc3

I was actually interested in a couple of other schools. One day my mom came up to me and was like “what would you think about going to Georgia?” And I was like “I dunno”. I wasn’t too fond of it: they hadn’t recruited me; I hadn’t been; I didn’t have a close relationship with coach Smart. I ended up speaking with coach Tucker, he had been one of my favorite defensive backs coaches. Once that happened, I thought about doing it and took a visit. After that it took off from there.

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And then this article suggest that Smith hasn't finished his degree yet. http://gridironnow.com/ex-georgia-c...athens-a-blessing-vows-to-make-an-nfl-roster/

B1GTide said:

I don't mind him wanting to go to GA. He knew Smart's system, and he knew that he would better his chances of making an NFL team by going there and starting vs. being a role player for Alabama.

What I don't like is that Smart clearly recruited him to GA, and that cannot be forgiven. That one was on Smart, not Smith, IMO.

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He wasn't just a role player though. He was very likely going to start at Star, which is on the field for over 80% of the defensive reps and is essentially our base personnel package now. Going all the way through spring taking reps with the 1s and then deciding to leave so late without telling the coaches is ALL on Smith. We could have invested all those reps and development into other players.

tide96 said:

I don't think we should block grad transfers from going anywhere.

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I have to reiterate that the grad transfer thing is a loophole really. It is only there for people who want a grad degree that they can't get at their current location. Otherwise, any attempt to transfer immediately relies on dishonestly making that claim. I think people have for some reason become locked into the idea that if you graduate this voids all other obligations, and other than the grad loophole I'm really not sure why. Allow me to ask you a question, where do you draw the line? In Smith's case he waited to try to transfer until the fall, a point in time in which Alabama had no reasonable way to replace him. Is it ok if they wait until the week before Alabama plays an opponent and then transfer to said opponent? Personally I think the rule in place is appropriate but you seem to take exception, so how should it work?

That aside, I am surprised some people downplay this as much as they did. Alabama lost the championship that year, and part of that was a tired secondary that fell apart late in the championship game. After the injuries (notably Eddie Jackson) it is hard to imagine Smith couldn't have played role in preventing the loss. Winning a championship takes hundreds of things going right, and this was one of the things that went wrong. It is odd for me to see people harp on the failings of one player who was in the championship game, but seem indifferent to a player that had he met his obligations would have been in the game and could have made the difference.

FWIW, I put the "blame" here, first and foremost on Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker, and this is but one of the dozens of reasons I can't wish either of them any success - not that my wishes have any effect..... And to be honest, Sankey totally "pooped" the bed on this one as well.

I think Smith was (probably) mostly a pawn - but what a naive kid!!! Being counted on as a MAJOR contributor for the upcoming season, he tells Coach Saban that he wants to leave the program, and he's SURPRISED that it doesn't go over well??? That Saban doesn't crawl on the floor Begging him to stay????

B1GTide said:

I don't mind him wanting to go to GA. He knew Smart's system, and he knew that he would better his chances of making an NFL team by going there and starting vs. being a role player for Alabama.

What I don't like is that Smart clearly recruited him to GA, and that cannot be forgiven. That one was on Smart, not Smith, IMO.

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An interesting comment from a buddy about a year ago - to the effect of, "Smart is well known around the SEC as a DIRTY RECRUITER. We all looked the other way when he was doing it for US. So why are we "Shocked" that he's recruiting DIRTY for Georgia?......"

I have no way to confirm or rebut the accusation, just throwing it out there. - But based on the stories we've heard about Kirby's departure, does it sound that far-fetched???

JustNeedMe81 said:

https://thereadoptional.com/the-cho...ng-intra-conference-transferring-3f6d42722dc3

And then this article suggest that Smith hasn't finished his degree yet. http://gridironnow.com/ex-georgia-c...athens-a-blessing-vows-to-make-an-nfl-roster/

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Based on the first story above, it sounds like Kirby/Tucker used the aubarn method, and made their "Deal" with the parent (in this case, the mom) before "officially" pitching their "Deal" to the player......

AS for the Second story - Imagine this for me - a bit of "Theater of the Mind":

Suppose the shoe was on the other foot. Suppose Smith was a projected Sr. Starter at another SEC School, and Nick Saban had "Recruited" him to transfer to Alabama based on the idea that he'd have a better shot at the NFL if he played for us. The guy moves, plays at UA, then get BUPKUS - no Combine invites, No Senior Bowl invite, Not even a SNIFF in the draft.

Do you think the media would give Saban a complete PASS on this deal the same way they've done Kirby Smart????????

Yea, me neither.....

I think grad transfers within conference should be allowed without interference so long as the transfer does not participate in in football (or whatever affected sport). After all, this is all about academics.

The real question is how will we feel about this when Gus starts recruiting Jalen this fall.

Smith, Chris Black, etc. should have had to sit. The problem is this waiver thing that DOES put a burden on the coach to either agree or not. Either there should be a rule or there shouldn't, period.

Rtr

bamamick said:

Smith, Chris Black, etc. should have had to sit. The problem is this waiver thing that DOES put a burden on the coach to either agree or not. Either there should be a rule or there shouldn't, period.

Rtr

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As Usual, Nick Saban is dead on and 100% correct in his assessment - either enforce the rule or change it! "Why is it on me? We have a Conference rule".
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/alabama-coach-nick-sabans-take-on-transfer-rules-is-exactly-why-reform-is-necessary/


https://www.si.com/college-football/2018/05/29/nick-saban-transfer-rules-sec-spring-meetings


Saban is ALSO 100% correct that IF the conference goes to "Free Agency" it's going to benefit some schools more than others - and one of the schools who would benefit will be ALABAMA. Can you even imagine if Saban and his staff had Free Reign to recuit the best Jr. and Sr. players from every other SEC team??????

Kerfuffle is the best thing about this thread:

ker·fuf·fle
(kûr-fŭf′əl)
n. Informal
A to-do or fuss: "Among the oldest corpses from which readable DNA has been extracted is a Neanderthal man. Imagine the kerfuffle if somebody managed to clone him" (Richard Dawkins).

Mel Tucker and Kirby Smart were behind this all along. Mel Tucker was PO'd he didn't get the DC job over Jeremy Pruitt so he insinuated to Maurice Smith that he'd be 'the guy" with the bulldogs. It turned out he wasn't even an every down player toward the end. IOW, he lied to the kid and his family. If he had stayed, we'd have won another championship and he, as almost all of our DB's, would have at least been drafted. Instead I think he was a free agent.

I agree with Saban on this issue. I hate that kids have no loyalty to the team who developed them over the years and won't wait their turn. Look how it turned out for Evans, Tim Williams etc, etc. I think this will eventually lead to players being able to transfer anytime they want to anywhere they want, no degree required., which is simply wrong. Much of the allure of college sports is you get to cheer for guys for 3 or 4 years, but what happens when the impatient player won't wait a year or 2 to play meaningful snaps. And what happens when our players are being recruited to go to Georgia, Auburn or Tennessee mid season. See above. I simply do not want to see it turn into a free for all with players changing teams yearly which it seems is where we are headed.

The current rule, as written, is fine if it's totally enforced. Period. Nick approves. RTR