OSU Helps Former RB J.D. King Gain Immediate Eligibility at Georgia Southern

Schools stubbornly blocking transfers or making them more difficult than they need to be for a student-athlete are all the rage in recent years. Oklahoma blocked Austin Kendall’s transfer before Lincoln Riley changed his tune this spring. Oklahoma State once did it with Wes Lunt before Mike Gundy eventually lifted the transfer restrictions. Coaches do it every year only to find they’ve sorely miscalculated the PR hit they take when they do it.

But straight out of the well hey, that sure was kind transfers news is this bit from Georgia Southern on Tuesday: OSU transfer running back J.D. King, with the help of Oklahoma State, has been granted a waiver that will allow him to play immediately this upcoming season despite playing at OSU last season.

King needed to meet three different criteria in order to be eligible for 2019. His initial request was denied after meeting only two of the three criteria and Georgia Southern filed an appeal on July 22. Oklahoma State’s Athletic Department provided a letter on King’s behalf supporting his decision to leave the program which was included in the original waiver application. [CFB Talk]

That is … rare! Kind! In today’s climate, that is … pretty awesome! King played in eight games last season but fell almost entirely out of OSU’s running back rotation when he decided to transfer. OSU could have held firm or simply not gone the extra mile, but it did right by King, who was a valuable two-year member on the team, and it now gets a nice little PR boost out of this news in return.

King will benefit instantly from the new ruling and should be a contender to take RB1 reps with Georgia Southern and its run-heavy attack this season. The former high school star from Georgia ran for 622 yards on 142 carries at OSU, and should be a great fit in the Eagles’ offensive attack.