Alabama DB Maurice Smith granted waiver by SEC to transfer to Georgia

Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith has been granted a waiver by the SEC to transfer to Georgia

Alabama defensive back Maurice Smith will be able to transfer to Georgia after being granted a conditional waiver from the SEC to transfer to a school in the conference.

Smith, who has already graduated from Alabama, was originally blocked from transferring to Georgia to play for his former defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Alabama granted him full release as a graduate transfer on Wednesday, putting the SEC in the position to make a determination on whether Smith would be allowed to transfer within the conference.

The SEC made the announcement on Friday that Smith would be granted a waiver to transfer within the conference, noting that as a graduate he had fulfilled his academic duties and should be exempted from the SEC bylaws that prevent transfers within the conference.

"Graduate transfer rules were established with the intent to be grounded in the academic interests of the student-athlete," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in a statement. "This conditional waiver permits Maurice Smith to receiver financial aid to pursue his stated academic goals at the school of his choice while connecting his athletic participation directly to those goals.

"The standard for granting waivers has been clear and compelling evidence that there is reason for allowing an exception to SEC rules," said Sankey. "I found, among other contributing factors, that a student-athlete who graduates in three years and exhibits a strong commitment to his or her academic future provides compelling motivation to help them achieve their goals on and off the field."

The conditions of Smith's waiver are that he must complete nine hours of course work in the fall semester in order to play in 2016, if he does not then he will be ruled ineligible for post-season play. If he does not graduate from his Master of Public Health program by the end of the 2018-19 school year, Georgia will not be able to request another waiver for a transferring player until the 2021-22 academic year.

In the end, the SEC appears to have gotten this decision right. If the NCAA and conferences are going to continue to insist on the student-athlete first idea, then they must reward those that graduate early and are pursuing further educational opportunities and let them have the opportunity to transfer wherever they please.