When the NCAA passed its new five-for-five eligibility model, it opened a can of worms that now actively impacts NFL rosters. Numerous professional football players are involved in eligibility lawsuits seeking a fifth year of college ball. Nobody from the Indianapolis Colts has filed for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, though, and if anyone did, it's safe to say the plan would not land well with general manager Chris Ballard.
Ballard could not hold back his laughter when asked if anyone had approached him about leaving to continue their college career.
"No," Ballard said Tuesday. "It's the stupidest shit I've ever heard. I'm sorry. I know I'll catch crap for this. Your entire life, you fight to get up to the NFL, but now we're gonna go back. OK, that makes a lot of freaking sense."
The absurdity of athletes going through training camp with NFL teams and then playing an entire season with a college program is not lost on Ballard, nor is it lost on Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who might see a couple of them on the other sideline when the Tigers take on No. 11 LSU in their season opener on Saturday night. LSU has been at the forefront of the push to add former pros to its roster.
"Rarely am I at a loss for words," Swinney said. "But I'm at kind of a loss of words. I would just say it's kind of embarrassing. I mean, honestly, it's just embarrassing that that's where we are. I don't blame the kids and people trying to take advantage of the system. I just think it's embarrassing where we are with college football."
While the prospect of professional players heading back to college is widely unpopular at the administrative level, some coaches have been quick to bolster their rosters with players who spent the offseason working out with NFL teams. With Lane Kiffin at the helm, LSU alone has its eyes on three players: Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Junior Tuihalamaka.
The NFL is on Ballard's side. The league will reportedly prohibit any player who returns to college this season from signing with an NFL team until after the 2026 campaign.
College conferences agree with the Colts general manager, too. The Big Ten and SEC quickly banned NFL players from returning to college, and the rest of the Power Four followed their lead.
Court battles could override the conference rules, though. LSU players are in a legal standoff with the SEC, and administrators at other schools in the league threatened to expel the Tigers over their roster plans.
