Demetris Robertson, the preseason all-state defensive back for Savannah Country Day who transferred this week to rival Savannah Christian, is eligible immediately for sports at his new school, the Georgia High School Association ruled Tuesday.
Robertson, rated a five-star recruit by Rivals, is committed to Alabama. Robertson led SCD last season in tackles with 90 at free safety and had 36 receptions for 556 yards and rushed for 178 yards. He also was 3-for-3 passing for 131 yards. "A special player," Savannah Country Day coach Dennis Coyle said.
According to the Savannah Morning News, Robertson and his family have moved closer to Savannah Christian's campus.
"It was a family-based decision," Robertson told Dennis Knight of the Morning News on Monday, before learning of the GHSA's decision. "My brother [guardian Carlos Robertson] works at Groves as a teacher, so we moved from the Southside to Garden City so he would be closer to his job. It's still up in the air if I will be able to play, and we're praying to God about that, but whatever happens, happens."
The Robertson case may help explain some of the complexities of the GHSA's transfer rules, especially as it applies to private-school students.
According to GHSA by-law 1.62 (b), a student moving from a private school can choose the play at the private school or public school serving his new district (and be immediately eligible) as long as he moved from one public school district to a different public school district. He doesn't have to leave the county, which is the district (or service area) for private schools.
In this case, according to the GHSA: "Robertson completed a bona fide move, along with his guardian, from one public school district (Windsor-Forest) to another (Groves) and is therefore eligible to choose between the public or private high school in that new district. He has chosen the private school, Savannah Christian. Since everything else is in order (grades, age, etc.), he is immediately eligible.''
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