One of these things is not like the other.
In news that should surprise absolutely nobody, the NCAA has denied Ryan Mallett’s request for immediate eligibility at Arkansas. Mallett’s argument was that he had no choice but to transfer as his style of play did not fit in with the offense that new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez wanted to run.
Seeing as I have no idea how the NCAA actually works, I’m going to say this is exactly what happened:
NCAA Petition Clerk #1: We’ve got a petition from Ryan Mallett who transferred from Michigan to Arkansas. He’s claiming his style of play no longer fit with the offense there.
NCAA Petition Clerk #2: Ryan Mallett? That name sounds familiar…isn’t he that kid that only threw 7 TDs and 5 picks in 11 games even though he had Arrington and Manningham to throw to and Mike Hart behind him?
Clerk #1: Yeah, that’s the kid.
Clerk #2: And he wants to take that game to Arkansas?
Clerk #1: That’s what he says.
Clerk #2: Does Arkansas even have receivers?
Clerk #1: I’m sure they do…I just can’t name any.
Clerk #2: And who is there running back?
Clerk #1: I see where you’re going with this…can’t we just stamp this ‘Denied’ and move on to that kid from Cincinnati?
Clerk #2: Oh, come on. I haven’t even gotten to the Petrino stuff yet.
I can’t blame Mallett for trying. I actually think the move was the right one for him; he’s closer to family and Arkansas is a better fit now. I also think the NCAA was right to deny under their current rules (this wasn’t exactly hardship-related), but I wouldn’t mind seeing them allow players to transfer with coaching changes. There’d have to be limitations on it; if immediate transfers were allowed, you’d see half the teams in the nation recruiting UM’s players once Rod was announced as the coach. I don’t think the NCAA is smart enough to figure out a good system for that, but I wouldn’t object if they did. After all, non-athletes are free to transfer anytime they want. Finding a reasonable process for athletes to do the same isn’t unfair.
I don’t blame him for trying, but Arkansas is no closer to family now than it was when he signed with Michigan, and “better fit there” is always problematic because the correlative of that is “not good enough here.” Do you believe there was a single school in the country that wouldn’t have signed Peyton Manning because he wasn’t a good fit? It’s doubtful Chris Leak regrets not transferring. Again, I don’t blame him for trying, but anyone who thought he had even a hint of a chance of winning that was fooling himself. The NCAA could not put in a coherent transfer rule to save their lives.
It would be an interesting scenario if players were allowed to transfer when the coach changes. It would certainly make coaches think twice about “climbing the ladder.” What coach willingly walks into a depleted roster? It happens, of course (ask Sylvester Croom), but it would happen with less regularity (ask Rich Rod).
I agree. Arky didn’t move, but sometimes it’s easier to travel a long distance than to stay a long distance. When I moved from the Rockies to South Carolina, I had many moments where I missed the mountains of the West far more than I anticipated. I’m not saying this is the case for him; being closer to family also serves as a great foil for the move so I really can’t take a stance one way or the other. But it is possible, so I tend to leave that motive alone.
If the NCAA allowed transfers, I’d really want them to add that you couldn’t transfer to whatever school the departing coach transferred to. Imagine what Rich could have done to WVU football if he could have convinced a few of his players to come with him.