GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida's depleted secondary got a boost Tuesday when former Utah starter Ryan Smith joined the team.
Smith, who could replace departed cornerback Avery Atkins, is eligible to play this season under new NCAA legislation that allows athletes who graduate and have eligibility remaining to transfer without sitting out a year.
Smith started 12 games for the Utes in 2004 under then-coach Urban Meyer and had 44 tackles and an interception. He started the first five games last year, but was replaced in the lineup midway though the season because coach Kyle Whittingham said others were "playing better."
Smith left the Utes after spring practice, saying he was physically and mentally exhausted from the game.
Now he has been reunited with Meyer and could play a big role for Florida.
Atkins was released from his scholarship in late June, a week after he was accused of striking the mother of his 2-month-old child.
Atkins asked for his release before the alleged battery, but Meyer denied the request after talking with family members. Meyer eventually relented.
A week later, reports surfaced that Smith planned to transfer to Florida provided he completed his undergraduate degree in the summer.
He did so last week and has been accepted to Florida's graduate program. He was expected to practice with the Gators for the first time Tuesday afternoon and has two years of eligibility remaining.
Without Atkins, Meyer moved safety Reggie Nelson to cornerback to start opposite seldom-used senior Reggie Lewis.
But Florida's secondary became even thinner Monday, when freshman safety Bryan Thomas had arthroscopic knee surgery. Thomas twisted his knee in practice Sunday, bursting a blood vessel near his anterior cruciate ligament. He will be sidelined four to six weeks.
The NCAA approved the graduate-transfer rule in April, ending a one-year waiting period for student-athletes who graduate and want to transfer in football, basketball and hockey.
So far, three prominent football players — including Smith — have taken advantage of the change. Offensive lineman Tyler Krieg transferred from Duke to California, and quarterback Richard Kovalcheck transferred from Arizona to Vanderbilt.