Alabama grants Maurice Smith full release

Alabama has granted defensive back Maurice Smith his full release from the program, his mother confirmed to Seth Emerson of DawgNation.

The news was first reported Wednesday evening by Cecil Hurt of The Tuscaloosa News.

The move allows Smith to transfer to whichever school he wants, including Georgia. The Crimson Tide were previously withholding his release because they refused to allow the former top recruit to remain in the SEC, which is where the Bulldogs reside. Such a transfer would still need to be approved by the SEC office.

"We have done everything that we can do institutionally to allow the conference to make the decision about whatever they decide is in the best interest of the conference and the SEC rules relative to Maurice Smith," Alabama coach Nick Saban said at his Wednesday press conference. "So that is past us now. It is beyond us. We don't really need to talk about that anymore and I don't have any other comments to make about it. We're trying to focus on the guys we have here and what we need to do to help those guys have a chance to be successful."

Smith played in 15 games for the Crimson Tide one year ago, and recorded 15 tackles plus a sack for the national champions. He was a core contributor on special teams.

He had become the subject of controversy in recent weeks, as he and Alabama engaged in a war of words related to his request to transfer to Georgia.

In July, reports emerged that the Crimson Tide were denying Smith his release, though a reason for the decision wasn't known at the time. A couple of weeks later, Smith's mother made waves when she accused Alabama of intentionally being uncooperative with her son's request to leave Tuscaloosa.

Shortly after his mother's outburst, Smith said he walked into the team's locker room one day to find his personal belongings in the trash.

As Smith's desire to move to Athens became public, Alabama insisted it would be happy to grant Smith a release, but didn't want him going to an SEC school.