Miami football capitalizing on transfer rules was critical
Manny Diaz and the Miami football program capitalized on the NCAA transfer rules during the 2019 offseason more than any other program.
The transfers added by the Miami football program will pay dividends for the next three to four years. After relaxing the transfer rules a year ago, the NCAA has reversed course and announced in their words “minor adjustments” to transfers who seek immediate eligibility.
The Miami football program’s decision to add nine (eight with Asa Martin‘s departure) players to a roster in need of an upgrade this offseason. Miami quarterback Tate Martell became the scapegoat among fans of school’s whose players were not granted a waiver to avoid having to sit out a season.
Martell was told to leave Ohio State by the Buckeyes new coaching staff. That, and the Buckeyes willingness to cooperate with the NCAA on a waiver allowed Martell 2019 eligibility. Martell is one of three high profile quarterbacks to transfer before graduating over the last two seasons.
Michigan QB
announced his intent to transfer from Mississippi after the 2017 season when the Rebels were hit with severe sanctions. The transfer portal has become a hot button issue.
Miami’s football rivals were not happy that their programs were not as aggressively pursuing high level, experienced talent as the Hurricanes. The result was that some of those fan bases frequently trolled Miami centric websites downplaying the ingenuity by Manny Diaz and his staff.
Transfers gaining immediate eligibility has become a hot button issue. Shane Lyons who is the athletic director at West Virginia and head of the NCAA football oversight committee spoke to Nicole Auerbach of the Athletic to discuss the changes that will be made.
"“It’s a topic that’s been very sensitive to everybody. There are a lot of different ideas. Some people like things other people don’t like. There isn’t consensus across the board. Some people in the media say everyone should transfer and become eligible. That becomes free agency and I don’t think there’s a comfort level there at this point. I think there’s a misconception out there that there are all these waivers and everyone is getting them. Yes, there are waivers, but based on the number we’ve seen, there are a lot of people not getting waivers. There have been some higher-profile situations that student-athletes and transfers in football have gotten waivers. That becomes more the headline than the student-athletes that don’t qualify for a waiver and are sitting out. “Like any policy or issue in any organization, you have to have a majority of people believe in it, At this point, there’s just a lot of different ideas that don’t have everybody buying into it.”"
Lyons observation that there is a misconception about the waivers is a case of being out of touch with college football fans. The perception is that blue bloods like Michigan, Ohio State and the Miami football program are getting transfers approved because of their pedigree and not each individual case.