By now you’re probably well aware that last fall the University of Alabama Board of Trustees opted to shut down the UAB football program, marking the first time since 1995 that a Division I-A or FBS program was disbanded by a university.

Before you get riled up, this article is not meant to discuss the termination of UAB’s program, nor is it meant to argue against it or to sympathize with the players or the UAB fan base.

In fact, the only reason I brought up UAB’s now non-existent football program was to discuss the players who currently find themselves without a program to call home as the 2015 offseason continues into the spring.

In a rare occurrence, the former UAB football players are in a similar position to NFL free agents. They have every program in the country and their disposal, although their list of landing spots is limited to schools showing interest in a given player. Nevertheless, players with true FBS worth have found or are still finding the right programs to play out their remaining years of eligibility, and for some former UAB stars those landing spots lie in the SEC.

One former UAB linebacker, Jake Ganus, is now a member of the SEC fraternity upon latching on with the Georgia Bulldogs program, and he should make an impact in college football’s highest-profile conference this fall.

Ganus is a rising senior with one year of eligibility remaining. He won’t have to sit out a year like most transfers due to the unique nature of his move from UAB to UGA, meaning he’ll conclude his college career in 2015.

What’s great about Ganus’ move is that he helps fill a position of serious need for the Dawgs: inside linebacker. The Bulldogs lost both of their starting inside linebackers from last season in Ramik Wilson and Amarlo Herrera, both of whom will be selected in the NFL Draft this spring, meaning Ganus could earn playing time right away if he impresses the Georgia coaching staff.

What works against Ganus’ move to the SEC is his size. At 6-foot-2 and only 225 pounds, Ganus is certainly undersized for an SEC middle linebacker, and his transition from Conference USA to the SEC will be all that much tougher thanks to the size disadvantage.

Still, Ganus led UAB in tackles for two straight years in 2013-14, and last season alone he registered 16.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks on top of his 70 total tackles. Those numbers speak for themselves. Ganus can read plays from the heart of the defense, can sense those plays developing and can put himself in the perfect position to make a play. He clearly has a knack for finding a way into opposing backfields, which will wreak havoc on opposing offenses no matter the linebacker’s size (or lack thereof).

He’ll compete with 2014 backups Tim Kimbrough and Reggie Carter for the starting jobs left vacant by Wilson and Herrera, as well as junior college transfer Chuks Amaechi and 2015 signee Roquan Smith, who won’t arrive in Athens until training camp begins this summer.

Needless to say, the job is not going to simply be given to Ganus, especially when two players who have been in the program and played the position with Georgia’s second team last year are in the mix. But Ganus can absolutely earn himself a role on the defense, even as a reserve who plays special teams and rotates onto the field for a few snaps a game at linebacker.

He admitted to Online Athens that he felt the transition from UAB to Georgia was as smooth as he could have hoped, which has allowed him to hit the ground running this spring as he aims to close his college career on a high note in the SEC.

“Everyone has embraced me,” Ganus said. “I’m a different situation, I only have one year. I’ve been a part of a family for three years and now joining this one has been great. The transition has been really good.”

Ganus is intelligent and capable as a linebacker. His lack of size will hold him back far more in the SEC than it ever did in C-USA, but it won’t determine his fate at Georgia. He may not be a star with an NFL future, but he makes the right play on virtually every play, and that intangible translates to any level of competition.

Whether he can earn a starting job for the fall remains to be seen, but rest assured, Ganus is going to make an impact for Georgia in 2015.