A new court injunction has reopened the door for two former UCF defenders, giving linebacker Cole Kozlowski and defensive back Phillip Dunnam a chance to return to college football after thinking their careers had ended last December.
Both players are among the athletes who have exhausted their fourth year of eligibility this past spring and have now been granted a fifth year. For Kozlowski, that possibility comes after a long legal fight tied to the Patterson et al v.
NCAA Tennessee court case. He had sought a preliminary injunction, only to have Judge William L.
Campbell Jr. shut that effort down on Jan. 15.
Then, nearly seven months later, Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado revived those hopes on Friday.
Kozlowski’s final college season in Orlando was a strong one. The Colgate transfer arrived in the Big 12 determined to prove he could produce at the FBS level after putting up 113 tackles, 3.5 sacks and six passes defended in the FCS.
He backed that up quickly, finishing third team All-Big 12 and earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition. He ended the season second on the team with 82 tackles and tied Nyjalik Kelly for second on the squad with 7.5 tackles for loss.
Dunnam hinted at a possible college return on X, responding to On3’s post about the injunction with the eyes and thinking face emojis.
His situation is a little different because he already declared for the NFL Draft and received an invite to the Tennessee Titans rookie minicamp. That doesn’t automatically block a return to school, though an NFL team could still sign him to a practice squad.
Dunnam had one of the biggest individual performances of the UCF season against Houston in the annual Space Games. In that 30-27 loss, he became the first player in school history to record three interceptions in a game and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.
Kelly is the third player who could have been in line for a return, but he won’t be. He signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers worth over $250,000 after impressing the team during rookie minicamp and OTAs.
Even with Kozlowski and Dunnam now eligible again, a UCF comeback looks unlikely. Scott Frost and his staff added more than 30 players through the January transfer portal, including reinforcements at the same positions those two would fill.
With fall camp starting next week for most programs, any return would come very late in the process. The fifth year matters for the 2025 seniors, but the window to jump back into college football is narrow.
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UCF Just Got A New Roster Twist Johnny Dawkins Must Navigate
A court ruling that could reshape the NCAA eligibility landscape has landed right in Johnny Dawkins lap, and UCF suddenly has reason to monitor the ripple effects closely. Judge Charlotte Sweeney approved an injunction that gives 2022 high school graduates an extra year under a new five-year plan, opening the door for players who were on the cusp of eligibility decisions to potentially revisit their plans.
For the Knights, the development could matter in a real way because multiple players may now have another option in front of them. Jamichael Stillwell had once seemed headed back to UCF before moving on, while Riley Kugel, last seasons leading scorer for the Knights, stands out as another name whose future may now be affected by the ruling as Dawkins sorts through a roster situation that just got a lot more complicated. [Read more 🡒]