The wild west of today’s NCAA world has officially bridged into the Dallas Cowboys stratosphere.
Cowboys rookie wide receiver Jordan Hudson was among over a dozen players granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA and the SEC in a Dallas courtroom to allow for one additional year of eligibility in the college ranks. The issue stems from the NCAA’s recent ruling allowing players to play five years of college athletics, but participants from the class of 2022 not being grandfathered in. Despite multiple players in the lawsuit having already signed and participated in practices and preseason games with NFL teams — like Hudson has with the Cowboys — they are currently eligible to enter the transfer portal and return to college.
The SEC was the first among all four power college football conferences to vote earlier this week to refuse any player that has signed a professional contract the right to return to college. This temporary restraining order now overrides the conference’s ability to prevent the players from returning.
The first player in history to return to college football after signing with an NFL team was tight end Dae’Quan Wright who requested to be released from the Cleveland Browns last week to sign with LSU.
The court order released in Dallas’ 68th judicial district gave this statement:
“The Court finds the Plaintiffs have shown by verified pleading and supporting evidence that immediate and irreparable injury will occur before notice can be served and a hearing held. The Court further finds that Plaintiffs have demonstrated a probable right to relief and that the threatened injury outweighs any temporary burden imposed by preservation of the status quo pending an expedited hearing.”
The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11 in Dallas with the NCAA, the SEC and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey listed as the defendants in the case.
Hudson signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent after a college career at TCU and SMU. In two preseason games, Hudson has caught three passes for 23 yards in mostly fourth quarter action. He is not expected to make the 53-man cut, but his profile could earn him a practice squad spot if he decides to stay in the NFL.
The Cowboys have one more preseason game on Friday night against the New Orleans Saints before making the roster decisions on Sunday afternoon. According to a source, he is still expected to play and fight for a roster spot.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.