re: Brandon Kennedy transferring

Posted on 5/16/18 at 12:12 pm to Carlton

Posted by TidalSurge1

Ft Walton Beach

Member since Sep 2016

36467 posts

Posted on 5/16/18 at 12:12 pm to Carlton

Saban on blocking transfers: 'Do we want free agency in SEC?' (BamaOnLine)

quote:
HOOVER, Ala. -- If the circumstance is right, Nick Saban can understand a player transferring within the conference. Otherwise, the head coach is not in favor of SEC free agency.

The topic came up Wednesday prior to the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am because of news that Alabama was blocking now-former offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy from transferring to Tennessee as a graduate transfer. Kennedy would rejoin ex-Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt in Knoxville, Tenn., but also a team that annually faces Alabama.

Saban shared his thoughts on the matter before warming up at Greystone Golf & Country Club.

“We have an SEC rule about it -- do we want to have free agency within our conference?” Saban said. “And I think there’s certain circumstances and situations where it may be better for the student-athlete, and in those cases, I would be supportive of the guys who’s doing it. I’ve done it in the past and I’ve not done it in the past. But I do think that this whole transfer thing is something that we should look at more from 1,000 feet.

“We don’t like to get put in the middle of these rules as coaches. I think none of us do. We have rules but yet we’re not supposed to abide by the rules and they affect poorly on us when we try to support the rules that we have. And the rules that we have, we have for a reason, and I just stated the reason -- do we want free agency in the SEC so guys would be able to leave your team and go play for somebody else next year that you have to play against? And I do feel that there are cases where that may be a viable option, if it’s for academic reasons.”

Kennedy is the latest instance where a grad transfer has been blocked, at least initially, from choosing a transfer destination within the league. Most notably was former Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith, who wanted to transfer to Georgia and follow another former coordinator, Kirby Smart. Smith was eventually was allowed to transfer to Athens, Ga.

According to a report from AL.com, Kennedy is in the process of appealing.

As this is the second transfer situation UA has encountered, Saban expects it to continue to reach the spotlight and will be brought up at SEC meetings in Destin, Fla., later this month.

“I think it’s a hot topic on a national basis, and I think something’s going to happen,” Saban said. “I don’t really know what. And if the rule changes, I don’t even have a clue what it might be and what it might change to.”

This post was edited on 5/16/18 at 12:14 pm

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Posted by Carlton

Good Cop/Bad Cop

Member since Feb 2016

11720 posts

Posted on 5/16/18 at 12:47 pm to TidalSurge1

Looser transfer rules won’t turn college football into the Wild West. Look at the numbers. (SBNation)

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4. Graduate transfers in college sports have increased a lot, but they represent a tiny fraction of the athletes.

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The number of graduate transfers tripled in men’s sports and doubled in women’s sports between 2011 and 2016, according to the NCAA. But:

There were only 443 graduate transfers identified in the 2016 Division I academic performance data out of nearly 110,000 Division I student-athletes, which equates to less than one-half of 1 percent.

Even if the football grad transfer market went bananas and, say, quadrupled in one year, that would mean 3.6 graduate transfers per FBS team. Even that assumes these are all FBS transfers, not FCS.

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There’s no transfer epidemic. But there should be discussion between athletes, coaches, and families about why a player might want to leave.

Coaches should empower the athlete to make the best decision for him/herself, without treating transfers like they’re some scary new thing.

I am envious of your editing experience