Maryland coach refuses to let players transfer

#1
TrueOrange

TrueOrange

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#1
...to Vanderbilt

claims Vandy HC James Franklin tampered with the transfers

a bit surprised this this didn't get at least some comment here

(not a major story by any means, but still perhaps worth something)

Danny O’Brien to leave Maryland: A look at the transfer stipulations - Terrapins Insider - The Washington Post

Source: Maryland Coach Randy Edsall would not release Danny O’Brien to transfer to Vanderbilt - Terrapins Insider - The Washington Post

Danny O’Brien is expected to graduate in the spring. That would enable the Maryland quarterback, with two years of eligibility remaining, to transfer to another Football Bowl Subdivision school and play immediately. The one stipulation is that O’Brien enroll in a graduate program not offered at Maryland.

O’Brien did request and was granted his release from Maryland. One stipulation: Maryland Coach Randy Edsall did not give O’Brien his release to transfer to Vanderbilt, according to an individual familiar with the discussion between O’Brien and Edsall. The head coach at Vanderbilt, of course, is James Franklin, the former offensive coordinator/head-coach-in-waiting at Maryland.

O’Brien chose Maryland a few years ago primarily to play for Franklin. If Edsall had allowed O’Brien to transfer to Vanderbilt, it’s unclear that O’Brien would have done so. But Edsall is not allowing O’Brien to make that move.

More to come …
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I have received a lot of questions via e-mail about Maryland Coach Randy Edsall’s stipulation that the three Terrapins players who decided to leave the program — QB Danny O’Brien, OL Max Garcia and LB Mario Rowson — not be cleared to transfer to Vanderbilt.

Make no mistake, it is common for a coach to stipulate that players can’t transfer to schools that are on the schedule in the near future. That’s why those aforementioned players were not allowed to transfer to ACC schools as well as Temple and West Virginia, which are upcoming nonconference opponents for Maryland.

But one longtime college administrator told me it is uncommon for a coach to prohibit players from transferring to a school that his school will not play, which is the case with Vanderbilt and Maryland. With Edsall including that specific stipulation, the insinuation is that something untoward may have occurred, and it raises the question of whether premature contact may have occurred between Vanderbilt and some of the Maryland players.

However, the stipulation would not necessarily prevent O’Brien from going to Vanderbilt, but would only prohibit O’Brien from accepting a football scholarship from the Commodores.

In the case of O’Brien, he has had a longstanding, close relationship with Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin, who is the former Maryland head coach-in-waiting. Franklin’s employment at Maryland — and the prospect that he would one day be the head coach in College Park — was one of the main reasons why O’Brien chose Maryland out of high school.

It is possible that O’Brien could appeal that stipulation to the NCAA, according to someone close to the player. I do not know if that appeal will be filed. In the 24 hours since O’Brien’s transfer was made official, the quarterback has already received significant interest from many schools. Mississippi, Arizona, South Florida and East Carolina are only some of the schools that have already shown serious interest.

And the process is still in its early stages.

There is plenty of time to examine the beginning of the C.J. Brown era at Maryland, and we will do so in the coming weeks. Maryland assistant coaches will meet with reporters each Wednesday for the next three weeks. And there will be a news conference with Edsall to preview spring practice on March 6.

A little more than midway through this past season, I had first broached the topic of O’Brien’s possible departure and explored all of the options he would have. And O’Brien had plenty of options because he, all along, expected to graduate in the spring.

Is anyone really surprised by how this has played out?
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#2
#2
and of course, denial of doing it by Franklin

Vanderbilt's James Franklin denies tampering with Maryland transfers | The Tennessean | tennessean.com


James Franklin defended himself Thursday over questions about whether he has had improper contact with three Maryland players who are transferring.

That was one of several developments Thursday regarding quarterback Danny O’Brien, offensive lineman Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson. Maryland announced Monday they were transferring.

Vanderbilt Vice Chancellor of Athletics David Williams said Thursday he does not believe published reports that Maryland has restricted the players from transferring to Vanderbilt.

But O’Brien’s high school coach said he thought O’Brien would appeal Maryland’s ban on his transfer to Vanderbilt.

O’Brien was the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year when Franklin was the offensive coordinator. He is set to graduate this year and has two years of eligibility left. He would be eligible this fall without sitting out a year because he would be a graduate student.

D.C. and Baltimore area media have reported that Maryland has raised questions about Franklin’s involvement.

“I don’t like innuendos and comments being made about tampering and things like that,” Franklin told 104.5 The Zone.

“You guys know me. I’m the type of guy, I’m going to have relationships with my players. I hope to have relationships with the guys that play for me for the rest of my life.

“But the fact that people would make accusations that we tampered or did this or did that, again, I’m just going to defend our program and defend our character and how we do things. But I think it’s ridiculous to think that I’m not going to have relationships with these kids after I leave places.”

Franklin said he has talked regularly with former players in the past.

“When I left (Kansas) State for Maryland I talked to (quarterback) Josh Freeman every week,” Franklin said. “I still talk to Josh. Josh flew in for (Franklin’s 40th) birthday party. I’m the type of guy, I’m going to have relationships with my players.”

Williams said he believes Franklin has not done anything wrong.

“Our coaches understand the rules and will abide by them and have abided by them,” Williams said. “I don’t believe we’ve made any illegal contact with these (three) kids. If we ever do that, we’ll be the first ones to turn ourselves in. When all of this started to surface I made sure that our compliance people were very, very clear that any discussions that are had had to be within the rules, not that I thought that our coaches wouldn’t do that, but just to reaffirm it.

“The NCAA rules are very clear with contact we can have (with other players) that are under scholarship. We can’t initiate any contact with them. If they contact us our rule is to say you need to get a release from your university. I’m pretty certain that our coaching staff has not reached out and had that type of contact with them.”

Williams said he does not believe published reports that Maryland has restricted the players from transferring to Vanderbilt.

“I know the AD at Maryland (Kevin Anderson) really well. I’m sure if that were the case he would pick up the phone and call and let me know,” Williams said. “I would be somewhat surprised if that is a restriction on them. I’ve been surprised before, though.”

Anderson declined to comment through a spokesman Thursday.

CBSsports.com reported Thursday that O’Brien’s high school coach, Todd Willert, who says he speaks to the quarterback almost every day, expects the family will make an appeal in order to have the option to transfer to Vanderbilt.

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this story left out a word in a quote from Vice Chancellor of Athletics David Williams. He said he believes Franklin has not done anything wrong. The Tennessean regrets the error.
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Has admitted to keeping contact with his maryland ex-players though
 
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#3
#3
Yeah, this story has been floating around Nashville for a couple of weeks now. Not much will come from it.
 
#5
#5
GoBigOrangeVols said:
Crazy that the Tom O'Brien has that much pull on the Maryland program from all the way down in Raleigh.
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my bad; was more focused on making sure my slow computer got the stories and links copied and pasted (& posted) than on double checking


can a mod fix that for me?
 
#6
#6
Franklin is dirty. It will all come out before too long. If he is lucky, it will come out after he gets out of Nashville.
 
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#7
#7
Calculon said:
Franklin is dirty. It will all come out before too long. If he is lucky, it will come out after he gets out of Nashville.
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It would be a shame for them to have to clear the rafters at Vanderbilt. Oh wait... nobody cares about the "Shreveport Louisiana Doo-doo Bowl".
 
#10
#10
Maryland coach yields, Maryland is still going to pursue tampering issues through the two schools' conferences

Randy Edsall frees Maryland QB Danny O'Brien to transfer to Vanderbilt | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Danny O'Brien will be allowed to transfer to Vanderbilt if he chooses.

A week after denying O'Brien the option, Maryland released its former quarterback to play for the Commodores, who are coached by former Terrapins offensive coordinator James Franklin.

The release also extends to offensive lineman Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson, two other players that have recent announced plans to transfer from Maryland.

"While at first I thought it was important to limit the institutions to which they could transfer, I have since reconsidered my decision," Edsall said in a statement. "At the end of the day, I want what's best for these guys and I wish them well in their futures."

Those three are among more than 20 players with eligibility remaining that have left the program since Randy Edsall took over last January and went 2-10 in his first season.

Vanderbilt was an obvious landing spot for O'Brien. He thrived under Franklin as a freshman, throwing for 2,438 yards and 22 touchdowns. But after Franklin left for the Commodores, O'Brien struggled in Edsall's system and was benched midway through the season.

The initial decision to not release O'Brien created controversy as Edsall was roundly criticized by local and national media. Most schools restrict transfers from playing at conference schools, future opponents or institutions in the same geographic region. None of those applied in this instance.

O'Brien had considered appealing the decision, which would have forced him to not be eligible for a scholarship at Vanderbilt. Now he has that option available as he seeks his future destination. Because he will graduate this spring, O'Brien has two years of eligibility remaining and can play right away at his new school.

However, the saga may not be over.

According to The Washington Post, Edsall has filed a formal complaint with the ACC, accusing Franklin of having improper contact with O'Brien before the player decided to transfer. That complaint has been turned over to the SEC, which will review the matter.
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Danny O'Brien is freed to transfer to Vanderbilt if he wants - baltimoresun.com

Maryland is lifting restrictions and telling departing quarterback Danny O'Brien, offensive lineman Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson that they are free after all to transfer to Vanderbilt or other schools if they wish.

Terps coach Randy Edsall* was telling the players this morning of the decision.

Maryland has believed strongly that O’'Brien had been in contact with *former Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin, now Vanderbilt's coach. Under NCAA rules, a school can limit a rival program from having contact with a player.

Franklin has said he keeps relationships with former players but has maintained there was no tampering. Vanderbilt said Franklin was on the road Wednesday and not immediately available for comment on the new development.

Maryland is pursuing the matter of possible tampering through the schools’ respective conferences.

But in the meantime, Maryland decided to remove the restriction on the players’ releases that specifically excluded Vanderbilt.

Maryland said the players were being given "a full release from the football program with no transfer restrictions."

“While at first I thought it was important to limit the institutions to which they could transfer, I have since reconsidered my decision” Edsall said in a written statement released by Maryland. “At the end of the day, I want what’s best for these guys and I wish them well in their futures. As a program we are looking forward to putting this distraction behind us and to moving forward. Spring practice opens on March 10 and we can’t wait to get back out on the field.”

The players’ releases also had excluded upcoming ACC opponents as well as upcoming nonconference opponents such as West Virginia and Temple. It is common for transferring players’ releases to exclude upcoming opponents.

A rival school can't encourage a player to transfer without permission. And it can't* provide athletics aid in the first academic year if the player transfers without that consent.

O’Brien is the former Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year who once adorned Terps’ promotional literature. He was recruited by Franklin. Those close to O’Brien had said previously that Vanderbilt and Wisconsin could be options for him.

But O'Brien is still early in the process. A source said he is expected to return home to North Carolina this weekend to talk to his parents and others about possible options.

O'Brien said in Maryland's statement: “I am pleased to be able to move on and pursue a graduate degree and continue my athletic career at the school of my choosing. I would like to thank Coach Edsall for his support throughout this process.”

O'Brien has said he is on track to graduate in the spring and could enroll in a graduate program at another school and play right away. He has two seasons of eligibility left.

O'Brien's 2011 statistics -- a 56.4 completion percentage, seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions -- paled compared to the season before. After regaining the starting job, he broke his left arm in a loss to Notre Dame in November and would have been limited in spring practices.
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#11
#11
Also, could a mod please change the "NCST" in the title to "Maryland"? I'd appreciate it

Typed the wrong team initially
 
#12
#12
"O’Brien chose Maryland a few years ago primarily to play for Franklin. If Edsall had allowed O’Brien to transfer to Vanderbilt, it’s unclear that O’Brien would have done so. But Edsall is not allowing O’Brien to make that move."

I don't see a problem with the transfer if he wanted to play for Franklin all along. And the scholarships are one year only anyway.
 
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