The Alabama Crimson Tide have been in the headlines in recent weeks thanks to the controversy surrounding the potential release of reserve defensive back Maurice Smith.
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A letter which was released to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution included a statement by Smith, describing the disrespect shown to him by Alabama.
Smith will have to be granted a waiver from the SEC, which has restrictions on athletes with less than two years of eligibility remaining transferring to league schools, including graduate transfers.
“As part of the SEC waiver process, a due diligence procedure ensures that pertinent information from the involved parties is gathered”, the SEC said. The SEC would not comment to the AP on the Smith case. Recently, it was reported that he wanted to transfer to Georgia, but wasn’t being allowed to do so. Smith has previously stated his desire to attend Georgia, which would reunite him with head coach Kirby Smart and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.
“We are still waiting on a response from the SEC”, Smiths’ father, also named Maurice, said in a text.
Each waiver request is reveiwed on a case by case basis, the league says.
As a graduate transfer, Smith is eligible to play immediately. Black was injured during the 2015 season and the school said his scholarship wasn’t renewed.
Coach Saban was asked about the Maurice Smith situation in a press conference on Wednesday and he simply stated that they were past it and were looking to move forward.
“So that is past us now”, Saban said. We don’t really need to talk about that anymore and I don’t have any other comments to make about it. He finished spring practice at Alabama as the first team nickel back.
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Last season, Smith had 15 tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble and one pass breakup in 15 games played.
