The uncertainties surrounding the structure of college football even extend to rosters for summer camp, when programs begin their final preparation for the fall season. Dozens of former collegiate football players are appealing to the courts for one more season, including former Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson.
Hutson has reportedly been working out at the Texas football facilities this summer but didn’t appear at the first practice of the summer nor on the team’s summer roster. So, will the veteran get a fifth year with the Longhorns?
“I don’t really have much of an update yet,” Sarkisian said Wednesday after the first workouts at Denius Fields on the Texas campus. “I think we’ll find out more about Cole here probably within the next week or so. I think there’s some positive signs to that thing coming to fruition, but we’ll see what happens.”
Hutson, who played in 48 career games with 23 starts primarily at guard, used up his eligibility while playing for the Longhorns from 2022-25. However, athletes who graduated high school in the class of 2022 were granted a preliminary injunction to play a fifth collegiate season last week by U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of Colorado.
The NCAA immediately challenged the ruling, and the decision remains in legal limbo.
Various lawsuits by Hudson and hundreds of other collegiate athletes in multiple sports from the 2022 high school class seeking a fifth season of eligibility coincides with new NCAA rules granting an automatic five years of eligibility.
Starting next season, the NCAA will fully implement an age-based eligibility model that grants collegiate athletes five years regardless of playing time, a requirement commonly known as the “five-for-five” rule. The model, which effectively removes the redshirt concept, calls for an athlete’s eligibility clock to start upon initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs earlier. The age-based eligibility implementation will begin this summer. Recruits starting in 2027 are age-based only.
Earlier in July, Hutson was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, allowing him to rejoin the Longhorns as he worked through his ongoing age-based eligibility lawsuit. He has been working out alongside his former teammates with the team but has not yet returned to the Texas roster while waiting for his scheduled court hearing Aug. 10 in Travis County.
A 6-foot-5, 308-pound offensive lineman, Hutson signed with Texas during the 2022 recruiting cycle as a three-star prospect out of Frisco High School, part of the same Texas signing class that included fellow lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. and DJ Campbell. He started 13 games as a freshman right guard before he was used as a depth piece during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Hutson reemerged as a senior starter in 2025 and found playing time as both a center and left guard.
Hutson was not selected in this spring’s NFL draft that featured seven rounds and 257 picks. He participated in rookie camps hosted by the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, but those tryouts failed to lead to a full-time job. If he returns to Texas, he’ll likely battle with portal signee Laurence Seymore III at left guard or returning center Connor Roberston for playing time.
The various lawsuits as well as the court ruling in Colorado could open the door for other former Texas players to return to the Longhorns, pending the success of appeals filed by the NCAA. Regardless of what happens in the courts, Sarkisian said “I don’t worry about it.”
“I just can’t,” he said. “You know, I’ve got 111 other guys that I’m trying to get ready to go play a game here in less than a month. When those things present themselves, I mean, I think that’s where (Texas general manager) Brandon Harris and his team, they’re doing all that back work for me. And then when things come to light, then you make decisions on it. But you’ve got to trust the people, and we’ve got great people in our organization. I’ve got to trust them to do their job, so I can focus on our team right now.”
The uncertainties surrounding the structure of college football even extend to rosters for summer camp, when programs begin their final preparation for the fall season. Dozens of former collegiate football players are appealing to the courts for one more season, including former Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson.
Hutson has reportedly been working out at the Texas football facilities this summer, but he didn’t appear at the first practice of the summer Wednesday nor is he listed on the team’s summer roster. So, will the veteran get a fifth year with the Longhorns?
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“I don’t really have much of an update yet,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday after the first workouts at Denius Fields. “I think we’ll find out more about Cole here probably within the next week or so. I think there’s some positive signs to that thing coming to fruition, but we’ll see what happens.”
Hutson, who has played in 48 career games with 23 starts primarily at guard, used up his eligibility while playing for the Longhorns from 2022-25. However, athletes who graduated high school in the class of 2022 were granted a preliminary injunction last week to play a fifth collegiate season by U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of Colorado.
The NCAA immediately challenged the ruling, and the decision remains in legal limbo.
Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Cole Hutson (54) warms up ahead of the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff semi-finals at the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan. 1, 2024. The Texas Longhorns take on the Washington Huskies for a spot in the College Football Playoff Finals.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
Various lawsuits by Hudson and dozens of other collegiate athletes in multiple sports from the 2022 high school class seeking fifth seasons of eligibility coincides with new NCAA rules granting an automatic five years of eligibility.
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Class of 2022 players given a reprieve to play
Starting next season, the NCAA will fully implement an age-based eligibility model that grants collegiate athletes five years regardless of playing time, a requirement commonly known as the “five-for-five” rule. The model, which effectively removes the redshirt concept, calls for an athlete’s eligibility clock to start upon initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs earlier.
The age-based eligibility implementation will begin this summer. Recruits starting in 2027 are age-based only.
Earlier in July, Hutson was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, allowing him to rejoin the Longhorns as he worked through his ongoing age-based eligibility lawsuit. He has been working out alongside his former teammates with the team but has not yet returned to the roster while waiting for his scheduled court hearing Aug. 10 in Travis County. The recent court ruling in Colorado could void the Aug. 10 hearing.
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Where does Cole Hutson fit into Texas’ plans?
Hutson (6-foot-5, 308) signed with Texas during the 2022 recruiting cycle as a three-star prospect out of Frisco High School, part of the same UT signing class that included fellow linemen Kelvin Banks Jr. and DJ Campbell. He started 13 games as a freshman right guard before he was used as a depth piece during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He reemerged as a senior starter in 2025 and found playing time as both a center and left guard.
Hutson was not selected in this spring’s NFL draft that featured seven rounds and 257 picks. He participated in rookie camps hosted by the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, but those tryouts failed to lead to a full-time job. If he returns to Texas, he’ll likely battle with transfer portal signee Laurence Seymore III at left guard or returning center Connor Roberston for playing time.
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The various lawsuits as well as the court ruling in Colorado could open the door for other former Texas players to return to the Longhorns, pending the success of appeals filed by the NCAA. Regardless of what happens in the courts, Sarkisian said “I don’t worry about it.”
“I just can’t,” Sarkisian said. “You know, I’ve got 111 other guys that I’m trying to get ready to go play a game here in less than a month. When those things present themselves, I mean, I think that’s where (Texas general manager) Brandon Harris and his team, they’re doing all that back work for me. And then when things come to light, then you make decisions on it. But you’ve got to trust the people, and we’ve got great people in our organization. I’ve got to trust them to do their job, so I can focus on our team right now.”