An Indiana state court has opened the door for Indiana Hoosiers defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt to return to the playing field for Friday night’s Big Ten Conference opener against Northwestern.
But if not, we lost some key guys last year and other guys stepped up. The NCAA announced in June it was going to adopt a new eligibility model allowing all athletes to compete for five college seasons over five years. Krothe’s ruling was expected this week. “You know, it sure will help if we have Wyatt and Daley. It’s hard to measure that. We’ll find out we think soon. Colorado District Judge Charlotte Sweeney then ruled some members from that freshman class could receive fifth year of eligibility, a decision that led some players in NFL training camps to consider resuming their college careers. Eventually, Sweeney issued a clarification that pro athletes were not covered by her ruling.
The legal fights began when college sports’ largest governing body said the new model would not apply to the freshman class of 2022-23.
“We’ve gotten better since the first game for sure,” Cignetti said.
Both testified in court last week, but when the decision did not come down before the game, they were held out.
Neither was selected in April’s NFL draft and neither signed an NFL contract to be part of either offseason workouts or training camp. Daley and Wyatt were starters on last season’s national championship team but suffered season-ending injuries before Indiana’s playoff run.
Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti repeatedly has said he supported the efforts of Daley and Wyatt to get an extra year of eligibility, and he alluded to it again after last weekend’s game.
