Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams recently announced his intentions to transfer to Oregon once he graduates after the spring semester. An FCS player transferring to an FBS school is not as common as the alternative and you would think that the coaches would be happy for a guy to get a shot to play on the big stage.
That would be the case if Eastern Washington to open the season with a road trip to Oregon to the fall. Since announcing his decision to transfer, Adams has been told he is not allowed to participate in workouts at Eastern Washington and will have to workout at the school recreational facility.
It didn’t take long for Vernon Adams to go from Big Man on Campus to persona non grata at Eastern Washington.
Since Adams announced his decision to transfer from Eastern Washington to Oregon after he graduates, Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin said during a radio interview he’s no longer welcome at team facilities or workouts.
“We’re not rolling out the red carpet around here for a guy that’s playing against us Game One,” Baldwin said during an interview with ESPN700 in Spokane. “He’s going to have to figure out where to work out.”
Eastern Washington and Oregon begin the 2015 season against one another in Eugene.
It’s a bit of a tricky situation for all parties involved. Since Adams won’t be enrolling at Oregon before the summer, he’s still at Eastern Washington for now and needs somewhere to work out. Still, even when you consider all that Adams accomplished at the school, it’s not hard to understand where Baldwin is coming from, either.
You don’t really want the guy that could be starting against you on opening day next season working out amongst your players.
I get that since Adams is going to Oregon that he is essentially the enemy now since you open with them, but banning him from workouts seems a bit much. Eastern Washington came off a little salty at the decision by Adams to leave for greener pastures.
In a statement following Adams’ decision, Eastern Washington athletic director Bill Chaves thanked Adams for all he’d done, but took a passive-aggressive turn when discussing the graduate transfer rule.
“We wish Vernon the best in his future endeavors and thank him for all that he has done for Eastern,” Chaves said in the statement. “The chance for him to pursue this opportunity is certainly a unique one given the fifth-year transfer rule. We are not sure that this was the actual intent of legislation when it was approved, but it is the rule currently in place that we and potentially other schools have to adhere to. We will continue to work through the process of this transfer based on the rule as it stands now.”
C’mon Bill, you could have just left it at wishing the kid well and not tacked on the extra stuff about the way the rule is written. You sound like the bitter ex-girlfriend who is salty that her ex upgraded from her after moving on. Don’t be that guy.