The SEC rule on graduate transfers was indeed the big hurdle on any of its teams signing Everett Golson, at least judging by comments made Tuesday at conference meetings.
Commissioner Mike Slive hinted strongly that was the case, when asked if any SEC schools asked for guidance on whether it could sign Golson, the former Notre Dame quarterback.
“There were inquiries, and we reminded people what our rule was,” Slive said.
Golson announced his transfer from Notre Dame earlier this month, and would be immediately eligible because he graduated. But he was suspended for the 2013 season after an academic matter, reportedly cheating on a test. The SEC has a rule that prohibits accepting a graduate transfer who has been disciplined for academic reasons “at any time.”
Georgia was among the many schools publicly linked to Golson, though coach Mark Richt has steadfastly refused to say anything about him. Richt again declined to say whether Golson visited Athens.
“I don’t comment on recruits like that,” Richt said.
But Florida coach Jim McElwain confirmed that Golson visited Gainesville.
“He came down, and checked us out,” McElwain said. “What a great person,” McElwain said of Golson. “I mean here’s a guy who paid his dues, went back and finished, got a degree from a pretty decent university. Notre Dame’s not bad, I guess. And did it the right way. With that being said, I wish him the best, he’s a quality person. I don’t wanna play against him but we’re gonna.”
Florida State, an ACC school, accepted Golson’s commitment two weeks ago.
The genesis of the SEC rule, as Slive aluded, was Jeremiah Masoli. The quarterback transferred to Ole Miss in 2010 after being kicked out of Oregon.
“I think everybody knows why that rule came into effect,” said Richt, who would still be in favor of keeping the existing rule, as long as the waiver is still a possibility. “When rules are written sometimes the spirit of it is designed for certain things. Just as long as there’s a waiver process, and there are circumstances that would make the league feel comfortable with it, then have at it.”
McElwain appeared a bit more upset about the Golson situation. When asked about the quarterback, McElwain essentially referred back to the SEC’s rule, and asked that all schools be “on the same playing field, and let’s not penalize ourselves as a league.”
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, whose school was also linked to Golson, appeared to lobby for a change in the SEC rule, as part of a bigger argument.
“We need to get our rules in alignment so we’re all on a level playing field, whether they’re transfer rules, whether they’re satellite camp rules,” Saban said. “It’s a disadvantage to not be able to do something in one league and be able to do it in another. It’s a disadvatnage to be able to recruit a player in one league and not be able to in another.”
Slive indicated that the rule, along with others, will be up for debate this week.
“The question then as we move ahead is do we keep this rule, do we not have this rule, does it apply to other transfer students, or just graduates. Those are issues that we’re going to wrestle with over the next four days,” Slive said.
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