Saban blocking transfer of Smith. Mom not happy

As long as Smith is allowed free transfer anywhere outside the SEC, I'm fine with a restriction on inside the conference (with the option to still do it and sit a year).

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

There are rules. Have your starting 5th db come to alabama and see if les releases him...

Title is misleading. Saban isn't blocking Smith from transferring. He's blocking him from getting a waiver and playing this year. If he wants to transfer, use his redshirt year and play in 2017, he can.

Why isn't Bowling Green blocking the transfer of the WR?

























Class

Saban cares about 1 thing in this world.

His own success.

This guys future kid may not be able to attend Princeton now.

quote:

---

Saban versus Kirby


“So you make the choice about what’s best for the child, if you truly care about the kid. Because knowing he’s not happy here, the next-best option for him is going to a program where he’s the most comfortable, where he can have a level of success that he believes he can have.”
LINK

---

That quote was not Saban or Kirby, it was the mother.

If he wants to transfer to any school outside the SEC, he can do it and play immediately. If he wants to transfer inside the SEC, he has to sit out a year, per the conference rules. Saban doesn't want to make an exception, and why should he? End of story.

Why set the precedence that kids come to Bama, learn the skills from there, then go elsewhere?

Not much difference than a non-compete clause.

I get why he wants to play at Georgia. The thing people here are only talking about obliquely -- so it's hard to tell if they actually get the point -- is that Smith would have to learn a new system with new coaches if he transfers anywhere but UGA. Anyone who has played football knows it's not plug-n-play, and missing out on spring stuff just makes it harder. So Kirby offers him a chance to start immediately, not just because of his talent but because of his knowledge of Kirby's system. (Not sure why he wanted Baylor, even if he's a Texas native, though the phrase "laughable competition for playing time" springs to mind.) The issue isn't just knowing Smart's system -- it's being unfamiliar with other systems. He couldn't just show up at Chavis' doorstep, for instance, and know what to do with minimal guidance.

That, however, is exactly the reason Saban is making a good call not allowing the immediate start after transfer. He'd essentially be allowing Kirby to bring along company assets, to use the business metaphor of CFB.

(I wonder what "limited contact" with Kirby and Tucker means. I can't imagine either of them would be happy with the mother making a vague statement like that since it can invite NCAA scrutiny for rules violations.)

Nick Saban didn't have a problem with accepting a DB transfer from LSU in Phelon Jones. Nick Saban is just a piece of trash. No other way to put it