Former Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson is taking the NCAA to court in Travis County, seeking one more season of eligibility through immediate emergency injunctive relief after the organization rolled out a five-for-five model for athletes in the 2023 recruiting class and beyond.
The suit, filed by Collin County attorney David Obard, says Hutson is “challenges defendant’s Seasons of Competition Rule in NCAA Bylaw 12.6 as applied to him in light of defendant’s recent rule change allowing football players graduating high school after 2022 to compete in five seasons of competition without needing to redshirt.”
It also argues that the NCAA’s handling of the rule “unfairly limits the number of games he can participate in during his five-year eligibility window, restrains his ability to further develop, restrains his ability to earn scholarship money as a student athlete in pursuit of his Master’s Degree, and restrains his ability to earn money through the use of his name, image, and likeness (NIL).”
Hutson came to Texas as part of the 2022 class out of Frisco, where he was a consensus four-star recruit, ranked No. 362 nationally and the No. 13 interior offensive lineman.
Texas has room for the 6-foot-5, 308-pound lineman with the scholarship expansion now in place, and his case comes after a four-year run that included 48 appearances and 23 starts. As a freshman in 2022, he started all 13 games at right guard.
He then moved into a reserve role for the next two seasons. In 2025, he opened the year as the starting center, missed three games because of injury, and then came back to start the final five games at left guard after classmate Connor Robertson took over at center.
Hutson was not selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
If the temporary injunction is granted and he’s allowed to play this season, Hutson would be in the mix for the open starting job at left guard. Andre Cojoe and Western Kentucky transfer Laurence Seymore are the leading candidates there.
Hutson’s lawsuit puts him alongside other former Texas athletes, including basketball players Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver, who are also seeking a fifth season of eligibility.
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