August 12, 2016 · 2:34 PM

Done deal.

The SEC grants Maurice Smith his waiver to be admitted to Georgia.

Welcome aboard, Mo.  Um… first scrimmage is Saturday.

**************************************************************************

UPDATE:  Here’s the official statement.

29 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, SEC Football

29 responses to “Done deal.”

  1. Neighbor HVL Dawg
    August 12, 2016 at 2:48 PM

    Alright Maurice. Now GATA.

    Like

  2. Jared S.
    August 12, 2016 at 2:58 PM

    Is this what a shift in the balance of power feels like? Why do I feel like we’re not living in the same absolutely-Bama-dominated universe we were living in just a few weeks ago?

    Like

  3. Derek
    August 12, 2016 at 3:02 PM

    I sure hope Maurice spends a LOT of time with kids also being recruited by Alabama (and their mommas). I mean a LOT.

    Like

  4. Gravidy
    August 12, 2016 at 3:26 PM

    Two comments:

    1) I really, really didn’t expect the SEC to grant the waiver. I assumed they were just taking the heat off of their meal ticket.

    2) Holy crap, this could have happened weeks ago. If this move was in his best interest today, it was in his interest back then as well. Nothing changed but the spotlight.

    Like

    • ASEF
      August 12, 2016 at 3:57 PM

      He did not graduate until Saturday. It could not have happened sooner than Monday – and that’s only if Alabama, Georgia, and the SEC completed all necessary bureacracy in one business day.

      Like

      • Gravidy
        August 12, 2016 at 7:46 PM

        Oops. Yes, you are right about that. But the kid tried to get these wheels in motion well before that, and he got stonewalled with a lot of pious BS.

        Like

  5. Hogbody Spradlin
    August 12, 2016 at 3:38 PM

    There’s justice in this cruel world!

    Like

  6. DawgPhan
    August 12, 2016 at 3:43 PM

    Good for him. Glad it all got settled. Hope he can get to school and get caught up on everything and make an impact.

    I dont know if it is a shift or anything, but glad that things worked out for this kid.

    Like

  7. Uglydawg
    August 12, 2016 at 3:44 PM

    Now he can spill all of Alabama’s secrets…right, Bert?

    Like

  8. BrightIdea
    August 12, 2016 at 3:51 PM

    This just goes to show….Mike Adams ain’t in charge anymore. We would have never been involved in this even if Kirby was the coach.

    Like

  9. ASEF
    August 12, 2016 at 4:14 PM

    I honestly never thought Saban would relent. Alabama graduates a lot of players in 3 years, and this opens the door for a lot of them to jump from back-up or semi-starter at Alabama to a thinner depth chart elsewhere.

    I still don’t get how a kid who wasn’t seeing huge minutes under Smart and Tucker at Alabama is going to see huge minutes under Smart and Tucker at Georgia. Yes, Alabama has far more recruiting stars in the back 5, but a lot of it lacks experience. Georgia has a lot of talent and experience there already. Smith adds some depth. At Alabama, he had a shot at displaying some senior leadership and demonstrating some intangibles to complement his physical skills. Now, he starts over. No way Smart and Tucker anoint him. He’s going to have to work his way up the ladder.

    Smith must really have high hopes for his time in Athens. I hope it works out for him.

    Like

  10. RugbyDawg79
    August 12, 2016 at 4:36 PM

    I hope he takes time to talk to the guys — Locker room Chemistry- is the only potential downside to this.

    Like

  11. Biggen
    August 12, 2016 at 4:36 PM

    The stipulation is curious. He must graduate during the 2018-19 academic year or UGA may not request similar wavers for a period of three years.

    However, Sankey also says the graduate rule needs to be addressed. So if they do away with the rule then UGA will never need to apply for another graduate transfer waiver anyway… So it could be a stipulation without teeth.

    Like

  12. eethomaswfnc
    August 12, 2016 at 4:39 PM

    Good for him. It sounds like he’s going into the Master of Public Health program, so I’m assuming that’s not a bunch of classes that aren’t going to be academically challenging. I hope he has a great year on the field and makes sufficient progress toward his 2nd degree off.

    I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised about the SEC’s decision. I still think the conference will change this rule in the offseason to reward athletes who take care of business in the classroom.

    Like

  13. Macallanlover
    August 12, 2016 at 5:29 PM

    Not surprised, kind of expected it yesterday since the SEC office has to have been all over this as it was playing out. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they hadn’t been applying some heat to the Alabama prez. I expect the rule to be amended in before next summer, no way to defend it with graduate transfers, imo. Also wouldn’t be surprised to see other conferences use this against the SEC in recruiting, just a dumb rule.

    Like

    • ASEF
      August 12, 2016 at 5:54 PM

      But put in place in response to the Masoli transfer to Ole Miss, which gave the SEC a bit of a black eye.

      The idea was to ensure transfers were academic rather than athletic in nature. There’s an argument for that.

      The bad press on this all summer long will result in a change – but he graduated Saturday and had his full clearance Friday.

      Like

      • Macallanlover
        August 12, 2016 at 6:44 PM

        There is an argument for that, but it is undermined by not applying that standard to all cases before, as well as the different standard one conference is trying to set. Rules must be consistently applied to be respected. Pandora’s Box was opened long ago and the PR battle has been lost.

        Like

  14. eethomaswfnc
    August 13, 2016 at 8:08 AM

    Very interesting language in the 1st paragraph … if he, Kirby and Tucker decide to take a redshirt with the idea that he’ll be a starter in 2017, he has two years in Athens to get ready for a potential NFL run. Given Saban’s roster management tendencies, there’s no way Little Nicky gives him that flexibility. If he didn’t keep the nickel starter role, he would have covered kicks, played in mop-up time, and shown the door in January in the hope of an undrafted free agent contract.

    Like

    • ASEF
      August 13, 2016 at 1:04 PM

      If that’s the plan, then he has no need of a waiver from the SEC. Without the waiver, he has to take a redshirt year at Georgia and wait to play in 2017.

      So, I’m thinking Smith wants to play in 2016 and has been promised prominent playing time in 2016. And after all the slings and arrows the SEC office took over this issue, I don’t think Kirby would be making many friends in Birmingham if he effectively says, “Hey, thanks for taking all those bullets and granting the waiver, but turns out we didn’t need it after all. Thanks anyway!”

      Like

      • Otto
        August 13, 2016 at 4:54 PM

        THe last paragraph in interesting as well, if he does not graduate as of the 2018-19 academic year, UGA can not request certain wavers again. I hope this kid is worth it.

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        • ASEF
          August 13, 2016 at 5:49 PM

          Popular thinking is that those conditions will expire with an SEC review/revocation of the existing rule come spring meetings. I suspect in fact that the new rule will be just what Sankey outlined for Smith – clears room for players with genuine academic ambitions, provides a serious drag on both player and the new program if the intention is simply athletic free agency.

          It does raise a really interesting problem if Smith pursues a pro career. Does he get a deferral on that graduation stipulation?

          Like

      • eethomaswfnc
        August 13, 2016 at 6:50 PM

        Good point – he does have the option if he gets hurt or something like that

        Like