A federal court ruling out of Colorado has opened a new path for Texas athletes from the Class of 2022, and the ripple effects are already being felt in Austin.
Late Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver ruled that student-athletes who arrived as freshmen in 2022 and used up their four years of eligibility can come back for a fifth season.
The decision, which is expected to be appealed, chips away at the NCAA’s June rule change allowing five years of eligibility. It also arrives before that rule takes effect in August and does not apply to athletes whose eligibility expired at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
For Texas, the biggest immediate name is offensive lineman Cole Hutson, the first known football player to challenge the NCAA’s newly adopted “five-for-five” age-based eligibility rule. That rule starts counting from a player’s first college enrollment or the academic year after his 19th birthday.
Hutson had already been granted a temporary restraining order so he could participate in team activities as the Longhorns moved toward training camp, which opens Aug. 5.
Friday’s federal ruling now gives him a broader path to a fifth season. Hutson enrolled at Texas in 2022 and played in 48 games with 23 starts from 2022 to 2025.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the possibility of Hutson returning during Southeastern Conference Media Days.
"If it ultimately all goes through, we're getting a veteran player," Sarkisian said on Aug. 23.
"At the end of the day, there's nothing like having an experienced player on your team, in your locker room, in the offensive line room. What does the future hold?
I don't know. I haven't seen Cole.
It's been seven months since the last time we played. So, there's a lot that we have to kind of sort through and unpack.
But if we're fortunate enough to have him back, it'd be great."
Hutson went undrafted and was later let go after rookie minicamp work with the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. He also has one semester left in a master’s program at Texas’ McCombs School of Business. As a freshman in 2022, he started 13 games at right guard, then started 10 games last season, splitting time between center and left guard.
Other former Longhorns could also be in line for another year. Undrafted free agents Jaylon Guilbeau and Ethan Burke would qualify to return to school for a fifth season; Guilbeau was released by the Carolina Panthers, while Burke remains on the roster of the Baltimore Ravens.
There are already more Texas-connected names working through the same process. Edge Justice Finkley, who finished at Kansas last season, and defensive back Austin Jordan, who finished at TCU last season, are both seeking a fifth year of eligibility, according to 247Sports’ Chris Hummer.
Texas is currently operating under the 105-scholarship limit, and that matters for any player hoping to come back. Former Texas guard Chendall Weaver is one of the 19 plaintiffs whose original lawsuit led to Friday’s ruling, so he can now pursue another season. But he won’t be returning to Texas, since the program had already used all 15 of its available scholarships before the ruling came down.
"We don't have a scholarship," said head coach Sean Miller. "That has nothing to do with Chendall. That has everything to do with we have 15 [scholarships] and we've used all 15."
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The final spot went to Marcus Spears Jr., whose accelerated arrival gave Texas the last available opening on a 15-scholarship roster. With that in place, Weaver has to look elsewhere even after his previous contributions to the program, a reminder of how quickly roster management can change in the modern game and how little margin there is once a team is full. [Read more 🡒]