Alabama has granted a full release to senior defensive back Maurice Smith, the Tuscaloosa News reported Wednesday.
Smith will now be able to transfer to any school, including those in the SEC, pending approval of a waiver by the league office. Alabama, who reportedly had been blocking a move to another SEC school, announced last week in a statement that it would help transfer to a “non-SEC school.”
Though he did not mention a full release, Alabama coach Nick Saban further discussed Smith’s situation in the opening statement of his press conference Wednesday.
“We have done everything that we can do institutionally to allow the conference to make the decision about whatever they decide is in the best interest of the conference and the SEC rules relative to Maurice Smith,” Saban said.