On Tuesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart took questions from media at the SEC’s spring meetings in Destin, Fla., saying he approves of the SEC’s current transfer rule in the midst of proposed changes.
“You know, I prefer the way things currently are where there’s two windows as they are. I think that it’s tremendously difficult to go through 3-4 months of workouts and spring practice and then have your roster change within your conference. You know, it’s one thing to say, ‘OK, May 1, a guy can leave and go anywhere he wants to go.’ That happens, and I think a lot of times that’s for the good of the player. We’ve had some kids that realized in the spring they may not get the opportunity they so desired and they wanted to go look at other schools. There’s hundreds of schools they can go look at, you know?
UGA had five players leave the program and transfer within the SEC after the 2021 season: wide receiver Justin Robinson (Mississippi State), cornerback Jalen Kimber (Florida), running back Lovasea Carroll (South Carolina), safety Latavious Brini (Arkansas), and wide receiver Jermaine Burton (Alabama).
Each player announced their intentions prior to the SEC’s Feb. 1 deadline, and therefore will be eligible to play for their new teams this fall.
“To say they can’t go in the SEC, I think it’s a good thing to have a date set earlier, they make a decision coming out of the season if they want to explore their options within the SEC, Smart said. “But, we’ll see how meetings go.”
If Alabama’s proposed changed, labeled ‘SEC Legislative Proposal 5’, is passed, it would allow SEC athletes to transfer within the conference up to May 1 and start for their new team the following fall.