The news that some players who had exhausted their eligibility could have a path to return to college football following a Friday night U.S. District Court ruling has raised plenty of roster questions around the sport.
And the answers are time-sensitive: Preseason camp opens in a matter of days for most teams, with a few having already begun practice.
A preliminary injunction handed down by district court judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in Colorado gives players from the high school Class of 2022 who did not take a redshirt year the chance to play a fifth season. That would be commensurate with the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rules, which provide all current and future athletes with five years of competition but exclude athletes who had already competed for four years and used their eligibility.
With the NCAA planning to appeal the ruling — on Saturday it filed an emergency motion asking Sweeney for clarification on the injunction — general managers and other front office staffers are now wrestling with how realistic it is to add these players to their rosters with the season starting in less than a month. Below is a look at the key issues on which many are still waiting for clarity. Staffers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss their team’s roster strategy.
Do teams have roster spots (and money) available?
One of the biggest reasons college football coaches pushed for the establishment of a single transfer portal window, a change that went into effect this year, was to set their rosters and remove a round of player turnover following spring football. But some coaching staffs across the country mobilized late Friday night after the motion was passed to figure out which former players could be realistic targets.
“It’s a little bit of a double-edged sword,” said one Power 4 coordinator. “On one hand, you know these players; they’re proven commodities for you. But on the other hand, if you take them back, you risk disrupting team chemistry. How do the guys who were there in spring ball and throughout summer workouts react to having their starting spots likely taken?”
And beyond that, the coach said that if programs don’t take back former players now suddenly eligible, one risks potentially facing them this season if they transfer to another team in the same conference.
“You’ll have guys who were multiyear starters at one program who don’t return who end up going to teams you might face this year,” he said.
For the most part, rosters around the country are set this close to kickoff. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t wiggle room for late additions. Teams must still abide by the 105-player roster limits instituted by the House v. NCAA settlement, but that 105 doesn’t have to be finalized until a team’s first game.
“Don’t think there’s a lot of spots available … but spots can be made,” an ACC front office staffer said. “Still have time to finalize the 105.”
As for the money needed to lure a player, that’s a different story. The most well-resourced schools could likely figure it out. But everyone else, especially Group of 6 programs that would welcome a talented, veteran late arrival, might not.
“We don’t have any money left,” a Group of 6 personnel director said.
Two Power 4 personnel directors said that teams would figure out the roster spots for a certain level of player or a premium position where depth is scant, with one acknowledging his team will be on the hunt. But the other questioned how much money can be offered compared to how much the player expects.
An SEC personnel staffer said adding one of these players — who would only have one more year of eligibility left, if they can play — could be budget-friendly.
“Yes (there is money),” the staffer said. “Especially since you’re only paying for 3-4 months.”
Will currently rostered players be cut to make room for these new additions?
Possibly. Two staffers said they feared walk-ons may bear the brunt of this last-minute pivot if a team needs to get creative to stay within the roster limit.
“Some will push walk-ons away,” the SEC staffer said.
Because programs are only constrained by the 105-player roster limits — not scholarship limits — teams could ostensibly push a walk-on out to add one of these Class of 2022 free agents as a scholarship player. Teams have walk-ons, known as DSAs (designated student-athletes), whose spots on the roster were protected from the new restrictions of the House settlement. Teams are allowed to be over 105 as long as DSAs are the only ones pushing them over that limit.
There’s no indication that this new crop of available players will be granted exemptions from the roster limits. And considering the NCAA’s stance on this issue, it seems unlikely.
The worst part of potential cuts of any player this late in the process is how it impacts the affected player’s ability to play elsewhere this season. The NCAA earlier this year moved to bar the “ghost transfer” — switching teams without using the transfer portal by simply withdrawing from school — and said it would levy major penalties on teams that added players that way. That could include a six-game suspension for the head coach of the receiving team and a major fine equivalent to 20 percent of its football budget.
Although college football’s transfer portal closed in January, players are allowed to enter the portal within 30 days of having their scholarship pulled, as long as they’re still eligible to play and haven’t engaged in serious misconduct, voluntarily withdrawn from the sport, violated a team or school rule or asked for a transfer.
Is it worth the trouble to take a flier on these players?
Teams will absolutely look into adding some of these players, but that doesn’t mean more questions aren’t lingering.
Most staffers wondered what type of shape some of these players may be in. If they haven’t been working out throughout the summer, how ready will they be for the rigors of camp, especially in regions where intense humidity and triple-digit temperatures are typical in August? Players who have been in an NFL training camp trying to make a roster, in theory, should be in good condition. And if they’re not returning to a familiar team or coaching staff, how long will it take to pick up the scheme and terminology?
There’s also some skepticism about the ruling sticking. The NCAA sent out a memo to schools Saturday blasting the ruling and affirming its intent to appeal. A Group of 6 general manager, citing the memo and the NCAA’s determination to fight the ruling, said a rush to add these newly eligible players would be “premature.”
It’s also worth wondering how the NCAA would view these players’ eligibility in the aftermath of the Arion Carter ruling. Carter, a Tennessee linebacker, was recently given a two-game suspension for accepting a $427 flight from an agent during the pre-draft process — even though Carter disengaged from the agent, paid the money back and returned to Tennessee before the draft declaration deadline — because he signed with the agent to pursue NFL Draft opportunities.
Would that same level of eligibility scrutiny apply to these players, who have been pursuing pro careers all year before this injunction came down?
One way or another, there will be a market. Roughly 1,000 personnel staffers from across the country, along with numerous player agents, will descend on Nashville this week for the annual Personnel and Recruiting Symposium. Though the three-day event is usually focused on professional development and networking, the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel may also become a de facto trading floor as teams look into these players and agents try to find homes for their clients.
Who are the notable players who could be available?
Several familiar names have expressed interest in returning to college football, according to their social media accounts, agents or reports from On3 and 247Sports:
QB Thomas Castellanos: Florida State’s 2025 starting quarterback has made it known he wants another year to play college football. He completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 2,760 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions last year after transferring from Boston College.
RB Desmond Reid: An All-ACC first-team selection at Pitt in 2024, Reid went undrafted and signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills, who then waived him with an injury designation on June 11.
RB Ismail Mahdi: He ran for 859 yards and four touchdowns at Arizona last season, declared for the draft and went undrafted. This month he became a co-owner of a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit location in Marana, Ariz.
RB OJ Arnold: He rushed for 1,032 yards in 2025 at Georgia Southern, making second-team All-Sun Belt.
RB Rashod Dubinion: A third-team All-Sun Belt selection, he led Appalachian State with 868 rushing yards last fall.
DL Traevon Mitchell: The ex-Division II star had 29 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, and four QB hurries last season for South Florida.
Edge Brett Karhu: He produced 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last season for New Mexico.
LB Trent Hendrick: The 2025 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, Hendrick went through the 2026 NFL Draft process and participated in minicamps with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.
LB Jordan Pollard: A two-time all-Mountain West first-team selection, Pollard signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts on April 30, but Toronto included him among its final roster cuts on May 31.
