UCF Linebacker Denied Extra Year Of Eligibility
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The hopes of another season of eligibility for UCF Knights linebacker Cole Kozlowski were dashed on Thursday.
While Kozlowski completed his fourth season of college football with UCF in 2025, the chance of him getting an extra season entered into the realm of possibility thanks to a Tennessee court case, Patterson et al v. NCAA. The plaintiffs, five college football players led by Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson, contend the NCAA's rules on eligibility violate antitrust law. However, with the case still ongoing, they sought a preliminary injunction to stop the NCAA from preventing them from playing a fifth season while the case made its way through the court.
On Thursday evening, Judge William L. Campbell Jr. denied the injunction, which would render the plaintiffs and other college football players who finished their fourth seasons in 2025 ineligible to play an extra season in 2026.
Not long after Campbell's decision came down, Kozlowski posted a video to his X account showcasing highlights from his season as a Knight.
"Left my mark," Kozlowski said in the X post featuring the video.
Left my mark. pic.twitter.com/PxNOCytJXQ
— Cole Kozlowski (@ColeKozlowski2) January 16, 2026
A transfer from Colgate, Kozlowski said back during fall camp that he was anxious to prove himself after coming off a season that saw him finish as one of the top tacklers in the FCS with 133 tackles, 66 of them solo, plus eight tackles for losses, 3.5 sacks and six passes defended.
Kozlowski started the 2025 season, his first and now only season at the FBS level, as a reserve linebacker off the bench. However, he ended up earning starting nods a few games into the season and became a starter for the final eight games of the season.
The New Jersey native led the team with eight quarterback hurries, tied for the most tackles for loss, 7.5, with EDGE Nyjalik Kelly. He recorded 82 total tackles, 48 of them solo, the second-most on the team and among the Top 15 in the Big 12, two sacks, a forced fumble and three pass breakups. For his efforts, he earned an All-Big 12 Third Team honor and was a Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honorable mention.
The Knights do not have long before their options to replace Kozlowski, at least in the transfer portal, become limited. The transfer portal officially closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday.
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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