College Football Rumors: Malik Zaire sets decision date, down to 4 schools
College football rumors are swirling regarding the potential decision date of former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire.
One of the most coveted transfers in college football is looking for a new home — still — and might be closer than ever to making a decision. Malik Zaire is reportedly eying a decision date that could actually eliminate one of his final teams from contention.
According to Dan Lyons of The Spun, Zaire’s potential decision date could eliminate Florida as it would come before SEC meetings.
Was told Malik Zaire may announce his decision on May 19, before SEC meetings. That could eliminate UF, leaving Texas, Wisconsin & Harvard
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) May 5, 2017
What does that mean? Well, there’s a rule that needs to be amended by the SEC commissioner in order to allow Zaire to pick Florida.
SEC Country goes into detail about why the rule affects Florida:
"Two previous graduate transfers to land at Florida — OT Mason Halter and LB Anthony Harrell — didn’t meet academic requirements during their time in Gainesville. As a result, the SEC rule restricted the Gators from taking any more graduate transfers for three years, starting in 2016.However, if the league amends the restriction to one year, Zaire could be free to enroll at Florida and compete for the starting quarterback job this fall."
Would the SEC amend the three-year ban to benefit the Gators? It’s possible, but the league would likely need a vote and not many schools who be open to the idea of assisting a rival in adding a top transfer target. Although it may just be an executive decision from the commissioner.
Related Story: NFL Draft 2018: Ranking the top 7 SEC prospects
Zaire was expected to be the next star quarterback for the Fighting Irish before suffering a season-ending injury in 2015 and then losing his starting job, again to DeShone Kizer, in 2016. He will choose between the aforementioned Gators, Wisconsin, Texas and Harvard.