Former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire remains hanging in college football’s equivalent of free agent limbo. Zaire will reportedly stay hanging in the balance until some time after the SEC’s spring meetings before he makes his final decision regarding his pending transfer.
According to multiple reports surfacing today on Twitter, including the preliminary report from Anwar Richardson of Rivals, Zaire plans to sit back and enjoy his graduation from Notre Dame this weekend and announce his decision after the SEC spring meetings, with Texas one of two supposed finalists.
Was told Malik Zaire could postpone his announcement & enjoy graduation. He's only considering two schools now. Texas is a finalist. pic.twitter.com/WOWmd3noRJ
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) May 19, 2017
Was told similar. His graduation is on Sunday and he should announce sometime after that. https://t.co/Cus5ZgA5pG
— Landon Watnick (@LandonWatnick) May 19, 2017
It is worth noting Richardson previously reported Zaire was intending to announce his transfer decision today, before the SEC spring meetings. At the time, that was taken as a sign Florida may no longer be in the mix. Now, as Zaire pushes that announcement back, could Florida be back in the running?
Florida has long been reported to be one of the leading possibilities to land Zaire as a graduate transfer, although SEC rules prohibiting players to be added to a football roster as a graduate transfer if that player previously failed to meet academic requirements after enrolling. That rule is planned to be discussed at the SEC’s spring meetings. If the SEC amends the rules in a way that would allow Florida to welcome Zaire without hassle, then the Gators could once again look like the favorites to add Zaire to the roster this fall.
Both Texas and Florida would benefit from adding a quarterback with Zaire’s potential. He may have had a rough end to his run in South Bend as he was overtaken as starting quarterback by NFL-bound Deshone Kizer, but Zaire may still have something left to prove and could thrive in a team with the athleticism and talent he could surround himself with at Florida or with the coaching of Tom Herman at Texas.