NCAA passing one-time transfer waiver means Joey Gatewood can play in 2020

The NCAA is now expected to pass the one-time transfer rule and implement it immediately instead of waiting until the 2021-22 season.

Ralph Russo of the Associated Press tweeted out the news Thursday night.

“There was some talk about delaying changing the transfer waiver to give all athletes access to a one-time exception, so it goes into effect in 2021-22,” Russo said. “Sounds like now that’s likely to happen and go into effect 2020-21. Full speed ahead.”

Immediately minds went to basketball and how this could be a major factor in the Cats search for a big man to finish off the 2020 recruiting class, and it will be a huge benefit for Coach Cal not only this season but going forward.

However, on the football side of things, this new rule would mean that new Kentucky QB Joey Gatewood who transferred from Auburn back in December, would be immediately eligible for the 2020 season.

Gatewood was originally going to sit out next season due to the NCAA’s transfer rule ,which meant he would be a junior before he could play for Kentucky. But if this rule does pass, then he will be able to suit up immediately.

While I still believe that it will be Terry Wilson that gets the start Week 1, it will be nice to have an eligible Gatewood available in case of another injury, because Kentucky won't have Lynn Bowden to bail them out again like he did last season.

If nothing else, Gatewood could come in and run some Wildcat QB plays here and there. He is a dual-threat option who could absolutely make an impact for an offense he’s not the starting QB for.

I can see this rule change being a positive for Kentucky across the board even if we do see a spike in the number of players that decide to transfer out since they wouldn’t have to sit a year.

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