Rushel Shell won't be allowed to play for the coach who recruited him, as Pitt has barred the talented running back from going to Arizona State. Per ESPN's Joe Schad:
Pitt won’t let Rushel Shell transfer to Arizona State
Pitt doesn’t want Rushel Shell to play for the coach that ditched them, barring the former High School All-American from transferring to Arizona State to play for Todd Graham.
Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE
Former Pitt running back Rushel Shell will not be released to transfer to Arizona State to play for former Pitt coach Todd Graham.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) April 5, 2013
Shell won't be released to Arizona State or Arizona. Also considering Cal and UCLA.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) April 5, 2013
This doesn’t exactly seem fair. There’s no competitive reason to not allow Shell to go to Arizona State -- the teams rarely, if ever, play, and the chance they ever do is even less likely now that Graham is the Sun Devils’ coach. It’s spiting Shell for the fact that Graham hurt the Panthers.
Shell tried to stick around after the guy who convinced him to come to Pitt. It didn’t pan out. It seems unnecessarily punitive to limit his options post-Pitt -- although I can’t act like I’m surprised, having seen this with virtually every prized recruit of the past few years that’s decided to transfer.
I’m really not sure what the competitive advantage of not letting him go to Arizona is -- wouldn’t you want him to play against Graham? Regardless, one hopes Shell lands on his feet wherever he decides to play.
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