This kid, who by all reports is going to be a very good player and who USU was counting on to fill a position of need for them, decides he wants to transfer. That's fine, let him play where he wants. However, I don't understand why many of our fans think that when a kid signed a NLI to another school, just because served a mission, he should be allowed to transfer without penalty, especially to a rival team. What's more, he is transferring to a team that USU plays this year. It would be dumb, from a coaching perspective, for Wells to grant him a release, because it would make his job harder this year. Plus I imagine that USU gets tired of kids that committed to them backing out of their commitments after their missions and wanting to transfer to BYU. By not granting the release, they're sending a message to future mission-bound recruits that their commitment better mean something or else they will have to go through the same process that any other player wanting to transfer between FBS schools does.
Again, I don't like that he won't be able to play this year, but I can completely understand why Wells is refusing to grant him a release.