Texas Lineman Cole Hutson Is Technically Ineligible While Pursuing NCAA Appeal

A pending NCAA decision will determine whether he can play this weekend and could collide with a new SEC rule that bars players with professional ties from conference rosters.

Overview

Hutson sued the NCAA in July for a fifth year of eligibility after going undrafted and a federal judge recently opened a path for members of his 2022 recruiting class to seek another season.
The SEC last month voted 16-0 to bar players who signed pro contracts or spent time on pro rosters from returning to conference teams, creating a possible conflict with court-ordered eligibility rulings.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian says Hutson never signed an NFL contract and only attended minicamps with the Browns and Cowboys, a factual distinction the school stresses as central to his case.
Hutson is listed on Texas’s roster, has been practicing with the team, and did not play in the season opener because he is pursuing an NCAA appeals process that leaves him technically ineligible for now.
If the NCAA clears Hutson, Texas still would need SEC approval to use him and that sequence of decisions could affect the Longhorns’ roster plans for Saturday’s game against No. 1 Ohio State and prompt further legal or policy fights over eligibility rules.