The SEC has joined the Big Ten in drawing a hard line on former pro prospects coming back to conference rosters.
Under the new policy, SEC member schools cannot roster athletes who entered a major professional draft without signing a pro contract or showing up on a professional roster. In plain terms, the conference is trying to shut the door on players who tested the pro waters and then tried to circle back to college.
That decision lands at a messy moment for Texas, where offensive lineman Cole Hutson is suddenly sitting in the middle of the debate. Hutson returned to the Longhorns earlier this month after originally exhausting his eligibility. Texas announced his comeback in early August after he regained a fifth year through a court challenge to NCAA rules, and the expectation was that his experience would strengthen an already deep offensive line.
Hutson’s path has been a winding one. He was a four-year contributor who played 48 games and made 23 starts at center, guard and tackle. After the 2025 season, he went undrafted and later took part in rookie minicamps with the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, but he never signed a professional contract with either team.
The SEC’s language now raises a real question: does this apply to players like Hutson who were already back on a roster when the conference announced the policy? The conference has not publicly said whether the rule works retroactively.
There’s another name caught up in the fallout, too. The new policy also appears set to prevent LSU from adding former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright.
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, was later claimed by Cleveland, and then waived. He had an agreement to join LSU if he cleared waivers.
The SEC said its commissioner may enforce the rule and hand out penalties to schools that break it.
All of this is unfolding while the legal fight over college eligibility keeps shifting. A federal appeals court last week paused a broader ruling that had opened the door for athletes who began college in 2022-23 and played four straight seasons to return for a fifth year.
Some players, including Wright, still have separate state-court orders that affect their eligibility.
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