If you think it's patently absurd that a football player can sign an NFL contract -- or even participate in legitimate preseason games -- and then come back to college, take heart in the fact that at least you're not alone. In a world where you constantly have to check whether things that were once obvious still hold up, more or less, nobody in college football actually likes that this is happening. Oregon coach Dan Lanning came out strong on the issue.
He's far from the only coach to do so, but his sentiment pretty much encapsulates where the vast majority of people arrive on the issue: "You're a professional now, once you declare for the Draft," Lanning told reporters. "So to let any of those players come back, fair or unfair to them, it's unfair to the sport, and I think it's unfair to the players that are on current teams for those guys to be coming back." Even Lane Kiffin went on The Pat McAfee Show and said, "I don't think professionals should come back to college sports and college football." But then he kept talking, and his elaboration is the heart of the issue. "But in this instance, these are not players who have gone on to play seasons professionally or randomly filed an injunction," Kiffin continued.
"This is part of a specific class that was ruled wrong by the NCAA that was supposed to be five-for-five." In fact, CBS Sports reported Kiffin and the Tigers were actively encouraging players to sue the NCAA. Kiffin, like the lawyers whose talking point he shares, is pointing to the five-for-five rule, a recent NCAA rule that says a player has five years to play five seasons. Players in the high school class of 2022 were essentially caught between two eligibility situations: They weren't covered by a COVID-19 season extra year of eligibility, and weren't grandfathered into the NCAA's current rule change. (There's a school of thought that happened intentionally, but more on that later.) Regarding Kiffin's latest profile in courage, it features him attempting to take tight end Dae'Quan Wright after the Eagles released him, as well as New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Zxavian Harris and Arizona Cardinals safety Wydett Williams.
Kiffin was not alone in his pursuit of the players, who were initially granted a court order to return to college football. They were among the group that sued for eligibility because they weren't grandfathered into the NCAA's five-for-five rule. Kiffin is arguing that it's a one-time deal, but all of these are popping up as one-time deals over and over again.
This is the cycle of college sports anarchy: loophole attempted, lawsuits follow, coach defends his actions on competitive grounds, leagues sometimes try to put a stop to things, more lawsuits follow and onto the next. Why literally now, on the eve of the season? Well, the formal NFL cutdown day is Sunday.
There is some functional insanity if you think too hard about the following situation: Let's say a player gets cut Sunday, and they show up Monday and have the required five-day acclimation period. Then they're good to go for Week 1 of college football the next day. It may seem far-fetched, but not really when you consider the college football world we all live in now.
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