Former University of Tennessee linebacker Henry To'o To'o announcing on Saturday that he would spend the remainder of his college football career racking up tackles for Alabama's dynastic Crimson Tide wasn't exactly a surprise, much less a shock.
To'o To'o picked the Volunteers over Bama as a California high school sensation. When Tennessee let Jeremy Pruitt go in early January - presumably for widespread and serious NCAA violations rather than his disappointing 16-19 record as the team's head coach - To'o To'o quickly entered the transfer portal with rumors beginning almost immediately that he would wind up with the Tide.
So this was expected, and why wouldn't it be? Unless your dad played for the Vols, or your all-time football hero is Peyton Manning or Alvin Kamara, why would anyone pick the current UT program over the current Bama one?
Let's see: We can, if everything goes well, maybe reach a minor bowl game in Shreveport or Birmingham or Memphis if we choose the Vols. OR, we can play for a national championship ALMOST EVERY SINGLE season with the Tide.
Hmmmmmmm.
Or as To'o To'o's dad, Lese, told the 247Sports.com folks in February and this newspaper's David Paschall repeated in his report this weekend on the linebacker's ultimate decision: "One thing that we talked about was that we chose Tennessee the first time when we should have come to Alabama, so let's not make this mistake twice."
Duh.
Yet even making this choice the second time around could be a mistake of sorts if the Southeastern Conference continues to cling to its rule that all transfers within the league must sit out for a year. That rule was somewhat waived this past season due to COVID-19. No less than SEC commish Greg Sankey has, on more than one occasion, been emphatic that he does not expect such leniency this time around.
And in a general sense, I have no problem with the rule. I have lots of problems with the opposite mindset of letting everyone who wants to transfer become immediately eligible - as the NCAA has recently allowed for first-time transfers - but that's another column for another day.
But should the SEC rethink its position when so many other leagues - including the Atlantic Coast Conference - have caved to the NCAA rule and allowed in-league transfers without sitting out a year? If nothing else, could the SEC keeping its rule intact not weaken the conference in the eyes of future recruits?
At the risk of saying aloud what many have surely considered privately, especially in light of a couple of SEC transfer dynamics last year, why not allow players within the league to switch schools and play right away - as long as they don't play that first season against the school they transferred from? In other words, To'o To'o is free to play for the Tide this coming season against every league school except Tennessee.
What would be so wrong with that? After all, had he remained at UT under new coach Josh Heupel, he would have faced a number of SEC schools for a third straight season. And good as To'o To'o is - and last season he was the Vols' leading tackler, including 10 for losses, and scored a touchdown on defense - he's probably no better than the talent Bama already has, so everyone else on the Tide's schedule would be facing a potential All-America linebacker whether To'o To'o plays or not.
A year ago, the league allowed Kentucky quarterback Joey Gatewood to play against most of the SEC, but only AFTER the Wildcats had faced Gatewood's former school, Auburn, in the season opener. At the time, some thought that was on purpose, but then the league made Georgia transfer Cade Mays eligible in time for his new school, Tennessee, to face the Bulldogs, so conspiracy theories regarding Gatewood were mostly erased.
Still, there are valid reasons to deny a player competing against his old school within the league during his first year at a new school. Emotions will be high among both fans and players. Coaches at his old school will be overcome with paranoia, though the player can impart schematic information even if he doesn't play. It also discourages tampering, though it's usually the player's inner circle making the initial contact to see if anyone would be interested if this player sought a change of scenery.
As for anger or frustration over Alabama getting richer, how much richer can the Tide get?
Consider this: When Nick Saban was asked a few days ago about Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher saying he was going to "beat Bama's (blankety-blank) before (Saban) retires," the Bama boss smugly replied, "In golf?"
To be fair, he later added: "They're certainly one of the up-and-coming programs. They'll be a challenge for us when we play them."
As long as Saban continues to coach at the Capstone, the Tide are going to be the ultimate challenge for everyone, whether their roster is filled with signees from the high school and junior college ranks or transfers.
So the SEC might as well as let transfers within the league play immediately, wherever they choose to play.
Just don't let them play against their former school the first year they transfer.
Mark WiedmerContact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @TFPWeeds.