How new NCAA eligibility rule could impact Utah football's 2026 recruiting class

There are already expectations that the next first round offensive tackle out of Utah after Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu will be Kelvin Obot, a blue-chip prospect who signed with the Utes as the program's highest-graded recruit in program history.

If all the buzz surrounding the Idaho native ends up being true, then he probably won't be sticking around college for more than three seasons. Some of Obot's fellow 2026 signees could pursue collegiate careers that span beyond the usual four years student-athletes have been granted for decades, though, if the NCAA decides to finalize certain changes to its eligibility rules.

NCAA Moving Toward "Five-in-Five" Rule

On Monday, the governing body moved one step closer to adopting an eligibility concept that would permit student-athletes up to five years of eligibility. According to a release from the NCAA website, the Division I Board of Directors has directed the Division I Cabinet "to advance" such a model that would do away with the previous rules limiting student-athletes to compete four seasons in a five-year window.

If the changes are to be made (the cabinet meets again in May), they won't impact any student-athletes who played in the 2025-26 academic year; no seniors are expected to get an extra year of eligibility if the NCAA implements its "five-in-five" rules. Of course, there are probably some lawyers out there who might try to challenge that in court, but only time will tell if amendments to the current proposal are made.

According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, no waiver requests, redshirts or exceptions would be permitted, except for those on maternity leave, military service or religious missions.

How Could New Rule Impact Utah?

If the NCAA goes through on adopting the proposed "five-in-five" rule in the coming weeks or months, then 2026 freshmen would have five seasons to play starting the academic year after they turn 19 years old or graduate from high school, whichever happens earlier (it's unclear how/if the rule would retroactively apply to sophomores, juniors and players who have taken redshirt years in the past).

In that case, everyone in Utah's 2026 signing class — from Obot to fellow four-star offensive lineman, Mataalii Benjamin — would have five seasons to play collegiately. Based on Yahoo! Sports' reporting, they wouldn't be able to use a redshirt year during their college careers.

In general, redshirting has become a thing of the past in college athletics. But at places like Utah, where developing home grown talent is part of the culture, it hasn't been uncommon for any student-athlete to take advantage of the extra year the NCAA has granted in the past to develop from behind-the-scenes before taking the field or court as a redshirt freshman the following year. Lomu, who was recently drafted by the New England Patriots with the No. 28 overall pick in the draft, is a prime example of someone who utilized their redshirt year to the fullest.

If redshirts are taken out of the equation moving forward, it'll be interesting to monitor whether the Utes' recruitment strategies alter a bit to favor more polished transfers over less-refined high school prospects. Likewise, how high school prospects approach the opportunity to play five seasons and earn a share of the school's revenue during that time will be worth noting in the coming years.

Regarding the 2026 class specifically, players who aren't expected to see the field much, like quarterbacks Kane Archer and Michael Johnson, for example, will want to somehow maximize their opportunities as freshman if they wind up getting five seasons without an option to redshirt. Certain offensive lineman playing behind more experience players are in a similar boat; any freshman at a position that doesn't heavily rotate players on and off the field risks being burried on the depth chart for their first season.

Now, even if official redshirts are off the table, a team could in theory "redshirt" a player by simply not putting them on the field. Since they'd have five seasons to play, losing one year wouldn't hurt as bad as it would for a player under the "four-in-five" rules.

How Utah goes about high school recruiting moving forward will be interesting to monitor if the NCAA adopts its "five-in-five" proposal. For now, it doesn't appear any such change would impact the Latter-Day Saints members who go on mission before continuing their football careers with the Utes. Per Yahoo! Sports, religious exemptions would be included in any such rule change.

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