Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters speaks to the media following a practice Friday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. | Teren Kowatsch/Roundtable Sports
SEATTLE — This offseason saw a significant change in eligibility rules enacted by the NCAA.
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The governing body of the highest level of college athletics shifted its decade-long policy of four years of eligibility for student-athletes to five years, with players who enrolled in schools in the 2023-24 academic year being the earliest classes affected. The new rule eliminates redshirts and medical waivers and includes time spent at junior colleges.
The full rule can be read here:
The new rule was installed to potentially eliminate the confusion and ongoing struggle for the NCAA to extend eligibility for certain players based on case-by-case medical waivers, legal injunctions and redshirt seasons. The confusion has been exacerbated by the era of Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) deals and more lax transfer portal restrictions than in the past.
The new rule hasn’t been met without challenges. A class-wide injunction was recently filed against the NCAA allowing Class of 2022 athletes, who weren’t grandfathered into the new rule, to pursue a fifth year of eligibility. Former Washington Huskies women’s basketball player Hannah Stines was one of the players who joined a lawsuit against the NCAA for a fifth year.
In addition to Stines, the Huskies also have several players who could potentially be impacted by the deal.
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At an introductory news conference before the beginning of fall training camp Tuesday, head coach Jedd Fisch declined to say whether the team is having discussions with players about potentially returning to the team, stating he was unfamiliar what he could say under the new rule. The third-year Washington head coach said that the team is “focused on 2026.”
It’s still uncertain, but leaning toward unlikely the Huskies will see the return of a player from last year’s team that ran out of eligibility return to the squad. But the new rule could allow several veteran players on the team to potentially return next season.
It’s still uncertain over which players could be eligible due to the combination of the lawsuit, academic classes, past redshirts and waivers, etc. One of those potential players is fourth-year edge rusher Jacob Lane.
“Obviously the possibility is there, but the mindset hasn’t changed this year, whether it’s my last year or if I have two years (left) going into it,” Lane said after a practice at Husky Stadium on Friday. “Gonna attack it the same way regardless. … We’ve known for the past couple years there’s been talks about it, so kind of anticipated it coming. But, I was never relying on that option.”
For the sake of clarity under the NCAA’s new rule, Washington has opted to identify its players on its public roster by their years played rather than classes (freshman, sophomore, etc.). Assuming that every fourth-year player listed on the roster will be able to play a fifth, that would mean that Lane, linebacker Xe’ree Alexander, offensive lineman Aidan Anderson, defensive lineman Darin Conley, offensive lineman Parker Cross, defensive lineman Elinneus Davis, offensive lineman Kolt Dieterich, punter Luke Dunne, tight end Kade Eldridge, offensive lineman Soane Faasolo, edge rusher Logan George, center Landen Hatchett, offensive lineman Elisha Jackett, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley, running back Jayden Limar, safety Alex McLaughlin, edge rusher Hayden Moore, kicker Tyler Robles, linebacker Beck Walker, defensive lineman DeSean Watts and wide receiver Rashid Williams will all be eligible to return next season.
