Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith wants to transfer to Georgia for his senior season, but the move has not been cleared by Nick Saban. That has made Smith’s mother is furious.
Earlier this week, Samyra Smith told Seth Emerson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Saban is being “intentionally” difficult by blocking the transfer.
“He wants to go to Georgia. Period,” Samyra Smith said. “That’s where he wants to go. The university is continuing to be resistant to any request to release my son. That’s where we are. In [Saban’s] mind, the best decision is for him to stay here. And he doesn’t think anything other than that is best for the kid.”
Smith is due to graduate from Alabama this weekend, so he would be eligible to play at Georgia immediately as a graduate transfer if Alabama granted him a release. Smith was mostly just a special teams contributor with the Crimson Tide last season. Saban said a few weeks ago that Alabama would allow Smith to transfer to a school outside the SEC but doesn’t think it’s in his best interest to move within the conference and have to sit out.
The problem, of course, is that Smith would only have to sit out a year if Alabama didn’t approve the transfer. After the 2015 season ended, Alabama allowed wide receiver Chris Black to transfer to Missouri, another SEC school. Samyra Smith speculates that Saban is blocking her son’s transfer because former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is now the head coach at Georgia.
“So what is it, is it really about my son, or is it about Kirby Smart and Nick Saban?” Smith asked. “I don’t know what it is. 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.”
If a reporter tries to ask Saban about blocking Smith’s transfer, this is probably the type of answer he or she will get. Smith clearly isn’t a star player, so it’s strange that Saban is making things so difficult for him.
