Each athlete will have their own personal experience when it comes to the actions they take throughout their recruitment. Because of this, many athletes are faced with difficult decisions right from the beginning of their process, but keep in mind you are the one who needs to be making the big decisions. Only you will know how to make the best choice for you.
It’s always best to get all the advice you can and to learn what your peers have been up to in certain recruitment circumstances. This will help you get an overall feel for what playing college sports is all about, and will tell you what you need to do to prepare if a similar situation arises for you.
Kyle Prater: His College Transfer Experience
Kyle Prater, a USC recruit, who this year asked to be released and transfer to Northwestern. Prater was an incoming freshman at USC when it was announced; a new head coach would be leading his new team. Prater stayed committed and redshirted. After his first season he wanted to be released from USC and attend college near his home town in Illinois.
Any college player has the choice to transfer schools when they want to, but in doing so they are risking their chances of competing during the following season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Prater’s case is unique because he asked to be granted a “hardship waiver” so he could begin playing football immediately after transferring. If it were not because of two important factors for Prater’s transfer he may not have gotten to transfer without missing out on a season.
The first being he was voluntarily leaving a top ranked college team for one less noted and with little chance of winning a conference title. Not many athletes are giving up their chance to play for a top team for a less noted one like Prater was.
The second factor to help him meet eligibility was the assistance and guidance from Northwestern’s athletic department, including; the head football coach, the director of football operations, the athletic director and two of the college’s compliance officers. If it were not for the coordination of an entire staff, Prater would not have been able to play.
Why you need to know this:
Even though Prater is able to continue to compete this year without losing a year or eligibility, his transfer situation could have been worse. What you need to take away from Prater’s transfer is; If you DO plan to transfer, make sure you know what you will be in for and how long the process could end up taking. There are a lot of people who need to work together in order to coordinate one athletes transfer request.
If you have any other questions about transferring or learning the recruiting process, please leave your question below. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!