Oklahoma will have B.J. Edwards available when the Sooners open the season Monday night.
The OU guard was granted a temporary restraining order Friday by Cleveland County District Judge Michael Tupper, which temporarily clears him for a fifth season. That means Edwards, who has been working out with the team every day, is eligible to play against East Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Monday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Edwards was among several athletes added Friday as new plaintiffs to an existing TRO. That earlier order, issued Sept. 3, had already given Sooners defensive tackle Danny Saili and first baseman Dayton Tockey temporary eligibility.
The legal fight centers on the NCAA’s new “Five-for-Five Rule,” which the organization’s governance structure approved this summer. The rule allows current Division I athletes five years to compete in NCAA sports after graduating high school. The plaintiffs say the NCAA has left out athletes from the high school graduating class of 2022.
Edwards had been ruled ineligible for the last two months after the Tennessee Court of Appeals on Aug. 26 stayed the injunction he had previously received along with other plaintiff athletes.
For Porter Moser, the on-court piece is what matters now. The OU coach has seen enough of Edwards to know what he brings.
“I see a physical guard,” OU coach Porter Moser said this week. “He can put your chest on somebody and really level somebody off.
An SEC athlete. Talking to many ACC coaches that coached against them, they said we 100% talked about BJ Edwards' defensive presence in our scouting meetings.
“He has a presence defensively. He does a little bit of everything.”
Edwards transferred from SMU after starting the Mustangs' first 28 games last season, before an injury ended his year. He averaged 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists, and he was the only player nationally with three games of 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
His college résumé is already extensive. Edwards has played in 110 games and made 93 starts while piling up 841 points, 440 rebounds, 370 assists and 181 steals across his time at Tennessee and SMU.
He also earned two selections to the ACC All-Defensive Team with the Mustangs.
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