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Bowling Green WR Gehrig Dieter transfers to Alabama

One of the MAC’s top returning receivers is headed to the SEC.

In a lengthy message posted to his Twitter account, Bowling Green wideout Gehrig Dieter announced that he play his final season of college football at Alabama as a graduate transfer.

In a brief release, Bowling Green said in a statement that Dieter will graduate from the school in May.

"Gehrig Dieter plans to graduate in May from Bowling Green State University and has informed the program that he has chosen, upon the completion of his degree program, to pursue other opportunities outside of BGSU football," the release said.

The 6-foot-3, 207-pound Dieter broke out in 2015 as a junior, totaling 94 catches for 1,033 yards and 10 touchdowns last season for the MAC champion Falcons. His 94 receptions were third in the MAC while his 10 touchdown catches were tied for fourth-best.

Several of those touchdown catches were of the highlight reel variety. Watch these two from Bowling Green’s game against Toledo:

As a redshirt sophomore in 2014, Dieter had 35 catches for 460 yards and one score. Dieter began his career at SMU and had 10 catches for 168 yards and a score as a true freshman in 2012. He redshirted in 2013 after his transfer to Bowling Green.

Because Dieter started his career at SMU, he could need a waiver to play for the Crimson Tide.

From the Sentinel-Tribune:

Dieter will likely need a waiver from the NCAA before the transfer process is complete since he has already transferred once from an NCAA Division I institution.

NCAA bylaw 14.5.5.2.10 (b) states that a student cannot play for three four-year institutions in the same sport unless, "The student has not transferred previously from one four-year institution unless, in the previous transfer, the student-athlete received an exception per Bylaw 14.5.5.2.6 (discontinued/nonsponsored sport exception)."

So, according to the NCAA bylaws, without waiver, Dieter would not be permitted to play football at Alabama unless SMU dropped its football program.

However, Dieter doesn't seem worried about the waiver.

“We talked to the compliance people here and they felt pretty confident about (getting) the waiver,” Dieter told FOX Sports. “He said there have been like 45 people in my situation and they’ve all gotten approved."

If it comes to fruition, Dieter’s transfer marks the second straight offseason that Alabama lands a grad transfer receiver. The Crimson Tide added Richard Mullaney from Oregon State prior to the 2015 season and Mullaney delivered a solid season with 38 catches for 390 yards and five scores.

Though Mullaney's eligibility has expired, Alabama returns its top three receivers from last season – wideouts Calvin Ridley (89 catches, 1,045 yards, 7 TDs) and ArDarius Stewart (63 catches, 700 yards, 4 TDs) and tight end O.J. Howard (38 catches, 602 yards 2 TDs).

For Bowling Green, Dieter’s transfer is a big blow. The Falcons already lost quarterback Matt Johnson and running back Travis Greene to graduation while Roger Lewis, the team’s other leading receiver, left early for the NFL. On top of that, head coach Dino Babers left for the opening at Syracuse, so new head coach Mike Jinks has plenty of holes to fill on his offense.

For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!