According to a report from MLive, tight end Chris Clark, the most coveted player at his position in the 2015 recruiting class, has decided to leave the UCLA Bruins and pursue his football dreams at another program.
Unfortunately for Clark, UCLA head coach Jim Mora has limited his transfer options, barring the young Clark from joining Michigan State, Michigan, or Ohio State. (Clark was committed to the Wolverines at one point in the recruiting process, but he backed out after Brady Hoke was fired.)
Nick Baumgardner, who covers Michigan football for MLive, wrote on Twitter that Clark was not given a reason as to why those three Big Ten powerhouses are off limits:
Clark says UCLA did not provide a reason why it blocked him from those three schools. Just sent a letter.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) September 23, 2015
Clark says he and his family are considering appealing UCLA's decision to block him from Michigan, MSU and Ohio State
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) September 23, 2015
As pointed out by Bryan Fischer of Bleacher Report, Mora’s decision doesn’t make a lot of sense. None of the three barred teams will be playing UCLA in near future:
None of these schools are on UCLA’s schedule until 2022 but ok then. https://t.co/jD1zn47sHn
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 23, 2015
Of all the corrupt and obnoxious aspects of college football, restricting a transfer player’s — sorry, a transfer student-athlete’s — future playing options is way up there on the list of stuff that makes you want to roll your eyes and retch a bit. It demonstrates the gross power asymmetry between players and coaches/programs, and it often seems petty and passive aggressive (perhaps you remember quarterback Wes Lunt’s transfer saga when he decided to leave Oklahoma State). It’s a practice that needs to be phased out, and hopefully we’ll soon see its demise.
Clark is reportedly looking at Pittsburgh, Virginia, and NC State as possible landing spots.