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Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin said players whose conferences have decided to postpone fall sports should be free to transfer without penalty.
During an appearance on the SEC network on Tuesday, Kiffin said it was “a shame” that players couldn’t make it.
“The kids see their schools or their conferences decide to close, so they can’t play, and a lot of them have a lot of money at stake with the next level, or they just want to play their senior year,” Kiffin says. . “So it’s a real shame that the NCAA doesn’t allow them to transfer and be eligible immediately. We’re told it won’t even go through a waiver process, so I feel really bad for these kids. . It’s not their fault. Why can’t they come and play somewhere? It doesn’t make sense to me. “
On August 11, the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced that due to the coronavirus pandemic, they would not be playing football in the fall and instead aimed to play in the spring.
The SEC, ACC and the Big 12 have all announced plans to start their season on September 26. The SEC plans to play a 10-game schedule, just for the conference.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said spring football would not appeal to pro prospects on Tuesday.
“I think one of the real consequences of this is, if you’re a junior or a senior and you have an NFL rating, are you going to play in the spring?” Saban said. “Or is it going to become a kind of JV season with a lot of these juniors and seniors retiring?”
Kiffin said he questioned the SEC about transferring conference players who won’t be playing in the fall and was told there won’t be any special waivers available, and that the only players who can transfer without having to sit are transfers of graduates.
Kiffin, who was Saban’s offensive coordinator in Alabama from 2014 to 2016, said the players were excited to resume training and prepare for the season. Ole Miss is scheduled to open the season at home against Florida on September 16.
However, Kiffin said the biggest challenge his team faced was tackling the spread of COVID-19.
“The big challenge is not when they are with us,” he said. “The big challenge is when they are far away from us and they face it, and [they’re] do a good job because the college environment doesn’t do a very good job and the environment in general. “
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