College football is in a crazy place. Everyone sees it, from NFL head coaches to the everyday fan sitting at home watching their favorite team on their TV. The college football that we once knew and loved is gone.
Proof of that concept: Diana Florence, a sports lawyer from New York who worked on the Colorado 5 in 5 eligibility case, is getting on social media to find potential clients. She posted on her X account a recruitment pitch to players:
“I am privileged to be part of the legal team on the Colorado 5 in 5 eligibility case. I have resisted posting here because I prefer to litigate in the courts rather than social media. Given the disappointing albeit temporary ruling this past Friday, I have a favor to ask. Any class of 2022 athlete that played 4 years, at least one of which was D1, please write up a brief statement and detailing through the injunction being stayed, the expenses you have incurred. Lost opportunities, degree etc.”
She would go on to post her email after, for those student athletes to contact her.
The Colorado ruling was supposed to do something to help players like Auburn’s new transfer portal add-on WR Tray Taylor. But all this did was create more ways to break the system. We are one week away from the start of the 2026 season, and we have LSU adding a player who was actively working routes in an NFL preseason warmup. Then another in EDGE Jack Pyburn, who had two sacks in a preseason game.
In some ways, this actually helps the SEC because the players coming into those schools would most likely see the field. Which ultimately makes those teams better by default. When the teams playing are more competitive, that makes the games better to watch, while also generating more viewership. Plus, it gets things like College GameDay for the first three weeks of the season and potentially more. More eyes on SEC schools means more money for an ever-growing sport. It’s not a coincidence they chose SEC schools.
Some might say it ruins college football by letting those players back, but I say let it happen. Rules are rules, and those teams still have to win the game. But I have my thoughts, and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has his on the fifth-year eligibility rules.
Dan Lanning plants flag on eligibility rules and takes a shot at LSU
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning spoke to the media about the fifth-year eligibility rules. In his comments, it sounded like he was taking a shot at LSU's Lane Kiffin when talking about the NFL.
“I think there’s a lot of negatives that are involved around this," Lanning said.
"One, once you go to the NFL, I mean, you’re in the NFL. You don’t get the opportunity to come back. ... Most of us have built our rosters, and you have a limited roster limit now. So, if you invited somebody back to your team, that means you’re kicking somebody else off your team, right?"
That completely challenges what LSU is doing when you see Lane Kiffin adding players like Dae’Quan Wright. If Lanning had his way, Wright couldn’t have the opportunity to rejoin Kiffin.
“I don’t think that’s fair to the players that worked all summer, all spring, and put themselves in position to be ready to work for a team," Lanning said.
“Ultimately, it used to be, once you had an agent, or once you went and did the combine ... all those things qualified as you were no longer an amateur. You are a professional now, once you declare for the draft. So, letting any of those players come back, fair or unfair to them, it’s unfair to the sport, and I think it’s unfair to the players that are on current teams for those guys to be coming back.”
Stern words for one of college football's top coaches. Lanning seems like one of the first to be against the new fifth-year eligibility rules, and other coaches from the Big Ten or other conferences may be on the same side. Some of those coaches might not be, though, like UCLA Bruins head coach Bob Chesney, who just landed his former and probably best player, LB Trent Hendricks, from the transfer portal.
Ultimately, this is going to cause a war between all the conferences. Which isn’t good so close to the season.
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