Syracuse football to benefit from ACC transfer announcement

Syracuse football will surely benefit from the latest transfer announcement by the ACC. Here are all the details and what it all could mean for the Orange.

The transfer regulations for college basketball and football have been held to a different standard than that of the other collegiate sports.

For example, transfers that have joined the Syracuse football and Syracuse basketball programs in the past have been forced to sit out a year.

Players like Elijah Hughes, Trishton Jackson, Abdul Adams were forced to miss a year and now currently former Florida offensive lineman Chris Bleich is trying to avoid it.

On Monday afternoon that possibility has become closer to reality when the ACC released a statement on transfer opportunity:

"“During the league’s annual winter meetings (February 12 through 14), the ACC discussed the transfer environment and unanimously concluded that as a matter of principle we support a one-time transfer opportunity for all student-athletes, regardless of sport. As a conference, we look forward to continuing the discussion nationally.”"

In other words, it’s an unfair process.

When a player decides to transfer unless his waiver is approved he must sit out a year. That isn’t the case for coaches who decide to leave at inopportune times. For example, we just witnessed Mel Tucker leaving Colorado high and dry for Michigan State, yet he doesn’t have to sit out a year, he can begin coaching immediately.

There’s a growing sense that the transfer restrictions will be lifted. The ACC has become the second conference to come out publicly in support of potential changes moving forward joining the Big Ten.

Brent Axe of Syracuse.com wrote on social media that this ACC announcement means that “transfers don’t have to wait a year”.

It’s unclear if and when this will open up the transfer doors without penalty for incoming athletes, but this would be a huge win for the Syracuse football program. Chris Bleich is an SEC talent from the Gators that would be a plug and play starter on the offensive line in 2020 (if he’s cleared by the NCAA to transfer in).

Regardless the public statement is a step in the right direction to right a wrong that has plagued major college sports for far too long.