The Tuscaloosa News reported Wednesday that Alabama had granted Smith a “full release” to transfer where he wishes, including within the SEC.
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Head coach Nick Saban indicated at his Wednesday press conference that the Smith transfer, a topic of much discussion in recent weeks, was now out of his hands, although he gave no specifics. He went on record to say that the team threw all of his belongings out of his locker, and even went as far as stripping away his privileges to use the athletic facilities.
Kirby Smart, Georgia’s new head coach, spent the past six years as Alabama’s defensive coordinator. We don’t really need to talk about that anymore and I don’t have any other comments to make about it.
A source confirmed to al.com that Smith has already applied for a waiver with the SEC that, as a grad transfer, would grant him immediate eligibility at Georgia if approved.
The SEC office had no comment on Smith’s specific case on Wednesday but did issue a statement in the waiver process. This information is gathered for the objective of a thoughtful and appropriate consideration of the particular facts associated with each case. The Georgia secondary returns plenty of experience across the board, but Smith could still slot in at nickel corner.
The SEC must now approve a series of waiver requests from Georgia – or wherever else within the conference that Smith seeks to transfer – that would allow Smith to not only move to another SEC program, but also play immediately as a graduate transfer, and that has not happened yet.
The saga has led to a public disagreement between Smart and Saban, who worked together the past nine years at Alabama.
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Maryland and Miami fans offered an outpouring of support for smith during his transfer process, but ultimately he had some affection for UGA that couldn’t be beaten.
