Interesting news out of South Florida last night -- saw it, but didn't have time to get it up on the blog amid the craziness at Dolphin Stadium -- that Miami has loosened its restrictions on where quarterback Robert Marve can transfer, allowing him to go to USF or Central Florida. Here's the story posted late last night from the Times' Ed Encina.

I've been saying for weeks that I did not believe Miami would release Marve to a school that would be on its schedule for at least two years Marve would be eligible. I still don't quite understand it from a self-interest standpoint -- why would the Hurricanes passionately block SEC schools that have no immediate impact on them, but allow Marve to beat them on the field down the road?

If you've followed the story in the last week, Marve's father, Eugene, has mentioned that his battle with prostate cancer is a factor in Marve wanting to leave and be closer to home, which makes USF and UCF the most obvious options since Florida is still blocked. USF certainly has a history with hardship waivers for players coming closer to home because of family illnesses, and this would seem to qualify as much as some that have been granted in the past few years. Matt Grothe is entering his senior year, with a wide-open battle to be his successor in 2010 -- that would coincide with Marve's junior year, with B.J. Daniels as the best challenger for the starting nod right now.

USF is finishing its first week of spring classes today, so if Marve wants to transfer to the Bulls for the spring semester, things will have to happen very quickly. We'll have much more on this story as the day unfolds and I get back to Tampa.