The first round in what promises to be a series of battles between Nick Saban and protege Kirby Smart was waged over Maurice Smith. The defensive back graduated from Alabama this spring and is hoping to transfer to Georgia to play for his former defensive coordinator. Alabama initially blocked the move, citing SEC transfer regulations. The Crimson Tide eventually relented, and the matter is now up to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
Here's a look at how it all went down:
Dec. 6, 2015: Georgia announces the hire of Kirby Smart, who served as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama since 2008, ahead of Alabama's appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Saban says: “Kirby is going to do what he does over there for the next week or 10 days, and when we come back and start practice, he's going to come back and do what he does here,” Saban said. “I know the professional integrity that Kirby has and the commitment that he has for our players as well as his new job. I feel very comfortable that he'll be able to manage that. I think the University of Georgia has been first-class in how they've handled this transition and helping us both be able to do this the way we're going to do it.”
Jan. 11: Smith plays against Clemson in the national championship game and records one tackle.
Feb. 1: Alabama receiver Chris Black announces that he will transfer to another SEC school, Missouri.
March 11: Alabama opens spring practice. Smith, a rising senior, plays on the first-team defense, filling in for injured Eddie Jackson at safety in addition to spending time at nickelback.
March 17: Georgia running back A.J. Turman tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Smart has twice blocked his request to transfer to Miami, where his former coach, Mark Richt, has taken over.
March 19: Smart says, “I wanted to set the precedent for the future that kids would not be able to go to Miami right away. It’s very important that we understand that -- and that’s pretty much standard operating procedure when a coach leaves one place -- that a kid can’t go there with the coach. That’s important to me that people understand that.”
He adds: “Moving forward, where it’s more important to know that we will not release kids to SEC schools unless it’s a special situation. And we will handle those situations on a case-by-case basis. There are very few situations where you want a kid going to somebody on your schedule, or somebody in your league. That’s pretty much standard operating procedure. And the reasons for that are two- or three-fold: You don’t want a kid being negative in recruiting when he’s at another place and you’re trying to protect the interest of your team and the rest of your team here. And you don’t want to have to play against them for obvious reasons. So we’ll handle those going forward.”
April 14: Smith speaks to reporters and says he’s been pleased with new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and new secondary coach Derrick Ansley. As far as filling multiple roles, he says, “It’s fun. Just knowing the defense … it’s one thing to know it but it’s another thing to understand it. And this makes it better for me as a player, and it also helps me help the team. Wherever they need me. If somebody goes down, I can go to any position in the secondary, nickel, dime, whatever it is.” He would go on to record two tackles during the A-Day scrimmage on April 15.
June 13: Smith requests “permission to contact” from the Alabama compliance department, clearing the way for his transfer. According to a letter Smith wrote to the Alabama appeal committee, obtained by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, he is immediately prohibited from working out with the team.
June 16: According to the letter, Smith meets with Saban. During the meeting, Saban tells Smith he would not release him to an SEC school.
June 17: AL.com reports that Smith intends to transfer. Smith later alleges in a letter written on July 1 that his locker is cleared out and all his personal belongings are thrown in the trash. He is also kept from entering the facility.
June 28: Since Saban would not release him to Georgia, Smith asks and receives permission to transfer to Miami. But, according to the letter, Smith changes his mind after receiving a notification that his transfer to Georgia would be denied. “I felt confused and unfairly treated and did not pursue the release to UM,” Smith wrote, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. “Although things appeared hopeless, I communicated with my parents, who told me to follow my heart, and if UGA was where I felt I would have success, I should not back down and should pursue it.”
July 13: Responding to a report that Alabama wasn’t being cooperative regarding Smith’s decision to transfer, Saban says, “We have told him, ‘Because we support the SEC rule, it would not be in your best interest to have to sit out. If you want to go someplace else (outside the SEC), we’d be glad to help you do that.”
Aug. 4: After releasing a statement to a similar effect, Saban tells reporters at the start of fall camp, “Nothing has changed. We support the SEC rule of not granting guys' releases to go to other SEC schools. It has been our policy here not to do that unless there was a special circumstance. We released a statement today that talked about the special circumstances surrounding another player [Black], which was an exception not the rule. I am not going to discuss this any further. Maurice did a great job for us around here. We want to help him every way that we can and he has opportunities to go other places outside the league and we are supporting him and helping him do that. So that's all we can say about that.”
Aug. 6: Smart, who has a similar policy prohibiting transfers to SEC schools, says he makes a distinction when it comes to graduate transfers: “Every young man that we want to bring here to the University of Georgia, we want them to graduate from this place. And if they have an opportunity to go to a graduate school at another place, I certainly think that that’s something that we’re going to let them do if they have an opportunity to go, once they graduate. I think that’s important to know.” In doing so, he begins to separate himself from his former boss, Saban.
Aug. 10: Alabama grants a full release to Smith. The decision now rests with the SEC office, which has restrictions on athletes with less than two years of eligibility transferring within the league.