Nick Saban's stance on the transfer of Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith has invited heavy criticism this week. Now, those voices include one of his former star pupils—-Georgia's Kirby Smart.
Smith, a native of Sugar Land, Texas is set to graduate today and is interested in transferring to Georgia for the 2016 season. Only Saban and the Tide are reportedly making every effort to stop that from happening, arguing that SEC bylaws prohibit it. Smart, who coached Smith at Alabama when he was the team's defensive coordinator, says he wouldn't block any player from transferring out, even to an SEC school.
"Every young man that we want to bring here to the University of Georgia, we want them to graduate from this place," Smart told Dawg Nation. "And if they have an opportunity to go to a graduate school at another place, I certainly think that that's something that we're going to let them do if they have an opportunity to go, once they graduate. I think that's important to know."
Smith, who was primarily a backup defensive back during his time in Tuscaloosa, would be eligible to play right away at Georgia, but because of Saban's refusal to release him to another SEC school, he would be required to foot the bill himself and sit out a season. In a transfer appeal filing, Smith explained that he faced hostility from Saban and the Alabama staff when he requested a transfer release in June:
"On Friday, June 17, I arrived at the athletic facility locker room to find my locker cleaned out and all of my personal belongings in the trash (photo attached) underneath trash," Maurice Smith wrote. "These personal items included my family photos, written goals, inspirational and sentimental items memorializing my deceased former friend, roommate and teammate, Altee Tenpenny, and items of personal value from my former teammates."
Saban responded to the transfer request by telling Smith they would allow him to go anywhere outside of the SEC.
"We have told him, 'Because we support the SEC rule, it would not be in your best interest to have to sit out," Saban said. "If you want to go some place else [outside the SEC], we'd be glad to help you do that.'"
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Smith's mother, Samyra Smith, thinks Saban is motivated by more than just policy. She cited the case of wide receiver Chris Black, who was allowed to transfer from Alabama to Missouri as a graduate student and was immediately eligible to play in 2016.
"So what is it, is it really about my son, or is it about Kirby Smart and Nick Saban? I don't know what it is," she said an interview wit the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "You just had a player leave, Chris Black, and he's at an SEC school, Mizzou. So don't tell me it's about a violation of rules, I can read you the rules, I understand them well. It's not a violation of rules or else the SEC would've stopped it, the commissioner would've stopped it. But it's allowed."
