Scott Covington : Covington Considers Transferring From Miami

Scott Covington, a sophomore quarterback from Dana Hills High, says he is seriously considering transferring from the University of Miami, according to published reports.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty about my future there,” Covington said. “There’s a lot of frustration. I was under a different impression on what was going on. The way it turned out wasn’t what I was expecting.”

Covington said he hasn’t talked to other schools and plans on being at Miami when classes begin next week. If he does transfer, he will have to sit out one season.

Covington was in competition for the starting position in the preseason with Ryan Collins and Ryan Clement. Collins, a senior, won the starting job for the season opener against UCLA, but the Hurricanes were routed, 31-8. After an injury to Collins, Miami Coach Butch Davis went to Clement.

At midseason, Covington indicated in an interview with The Times that he was concerned at the time about his uncertain status.

Covington finished the season third among the quarterbacks in passing yardage. In seven game appearances, Covington completed 22 of 42 passes (52%) for 324 yards. He had two interceptions.

Clement, a sophomore from Denver, finished the year as the starter and Miami’s most productive passer with 1,638 passing yards. Collins passed for 478 yards in four games.

After losing three of its first four games, Miami came back to win seven consecutive games to finish 8-3 and was ranked 22nd.

The Hurricanes were put on three years probation and banned from playing in a bowl for one season. The program also was stripped of 24 scholarships by the NCAA for infractions during the time Dennis Erickson and Jimmy Johnson coached the Hurricanes.

Miami will lose 13 scholarships in the 1996-97 academic year and 11 more in 1997-98.

Covington was a redshirt in 1994 and spent that season on the scout team after setting several school records at Dana Hills during his senior season even though the team finished 1-9.

Times staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this story.