Report: Bobby Petrino blocking Louisville grad Shaq Wiggins from transferring to two SEC schools
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Any plans cornerback Shaq Wiggins had of reuniting with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham have just hit a roadblock, as Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino has reportedly restricted a move to Mississippi State, as well as four other schools, for the graduate transfer.
According to Edward Aschoff of ESPN, Petrino will not allow Wiggins to transfer to Mississippi State – where Grantham now serves as defensive coordinator – or Kentucky, UK hosts Louisville in 2017. The Cardinals coach is also restricting transfers to Purdue (the Boilermakers also play Louisville in 2017), Notre Dame, and Western Kentucky. Considering Wiggins is a graduate transfer, he is eligible to play immediately in 2017.
The decision to block any transfer to MSU came as a surprise to Wiggins, who believes the Bulldogs landed on Petrino’s list purely for “personal” reasons:
“I really don’t know what’s his state of thinking or why he chose to put Mississippi State on there. It’s something personal, but I have no idea why. It’s really not fair.”
According to Aschoff, Wiggins is “strongly considering” transferring to Tennessee or South Carolina and would have considered Mississippi State had the restriction to Starkville not been in place.
Former Georgia defensive back Maurice Smith also ran into similar issues when he attempted to transfer as a graduate from Alabama last offseason. After initially being blocked, Nick Saban allowed Smith to finish his playing career in Athens.
It will be interesting to see if Petrino faces the same level of scrutiny Saban faced last season after initially blocking Smith’s transfer. If he does, will he too change his stance on any potential transfer?
Follow Michael Wayne Bratton / SEC Mike on Twitter.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
