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Tyler Shough needed seven years of college football to become a starting NFL quarterback.<\/p>\n
Under the\u00a0new eligibility model model<\/a>\u00a0approved Tuesday, athletes will no longer have that option.<\/p>\n Athletes in Division I, the top level of competition, will have\u00a0five years to complete five seasons<\/a>\u00a0of competition, a move the NCAA hopes will add structure to a system stretched into chaos and courtrooms by countless transfers, redshirt decisions, injuries, players seeking more seasons to cash in on NIL opportunities and even pandemic-era complexities.<\/p>\n The eligibility clock starts when an athlete enrolls full time or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.<\/p>\n If the new rules withstand potential legal challenges, the development of college athletes will undergo a dramatic shift. There will be no more traditional redshirt years, nor will there be medical or general extension waivers available; the only limited exceptions for going beyond five-in-five would be for military service, religious missions and maternity leave.<\/p>\n Tom Loy, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, said he believes the change could keep talented players in college for longer.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, I believe this rule change would have coaches putting a significant emphasis on retaining as much of the current roster as possible, especially upperclassmen, while focusing their attention slightly less on the transfer portal,\u201d Loy said in an email. \u201cWith the opportunity to play five full seasons, they could have a roster full of 23-year-olds, for example, compared to 18- or 19-year-olds, and beyond that, potentially have a group full of talent they have developed in their system.\u201d<\/p>\n The end of the redshirt<\/p>\n Shough spent two seasons at Oregon and three at Texas Tech before suiting up at Louisville as a seventh-year senior in 2024. Injuries, a redshirt season and the pandemic extended his college career, extra time that helped turn him into a\u00a0second-round draft pick<\/a>\u00a0and, eventually, the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.<\/p>\n He believes future college athletes should be given the same opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cI think everybody should have a chance to at least get a medical and then a redshirt,\u201d Shough said. \u201cI know I benefited from that experience, the maturation process, having to compete multiple years. I feel strongly about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Detroit Lions rookie defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina followed a similar path. His six-year college career included an undergraduate stint at Notre Dame and two postgraduate seasons at California following a medical redshirt and pandemic waiver, when the NCAA gave\u00a0thousands of athletes<\/a>\u00a0an extra year.<\/p>\n