Former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire is transferring from Notre Dame for the 2017 season, and is reportedly eyeing the Florida Gators as his next home. … if the SEC allows.
With Texas and Harvard on the table, Zaire is waiting until the Southeastern Conference concludes its spring meetings, where it is expected to ease the rules on graduate transfers. As it stands, Florida is on probation and unable to add the graduate due to two others failing to meet academic standards in 2016. Florida is unable to add another graduate transfer for three years under the current rule.
No other Power Five conference has a rule like the SEC’s graduate clause, which ultimately hurts the league, according to Alabama coach Nick Saban.
“I don’t think we should penalize ourselves as a league and allow people to transfer other places, but they can’t transfer to our league,” Saban told the Associated Press. “So if there’s some balance we can come up with on that, that’s what I would be for.”
Zaire was the number two quarterback in 2016 behind DeShone Kizer – who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft last month. Zaire started for the Irish in 2015 against Texas before getting injured and missing the remainder of the season.
