Ryan Day, Dan Lanning Agree on Players Returning to College Football From the NFL

In what is believed to be the first time in history, NFL players now appear to be allowed to return to college football, and the reactions continue to pour in.

A landmark temporary restraining order against the NCAA issued by a judge in Louisiana has allowed more than a dozen players who were already on a National Football League roster to return to college football with a fifth year of eligibility.

Paul Finebaum has predictably blasted the development, arguing that college football has “officially plunged into the abyss,” and that, while the sport has had worse scandals, this decision fundamentally changes the meaning of the game.

Now, two of the nation’s most recognizable and accomplished young head coaches have responded, agreeing that none of this sounds quite right.

But the Buckeyes’ coach noted one exception

Ryan Day, Dan Lanning Agree on Players Returning to College Football From the NFL — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day doesn’t like the idea, but if he was faced with the prospect of bringing on one of those players? He would have to look into it.

“If there are teams that have some players who are cut from NFL rosters that are going to be on other teams, we have to at least consider it and look at it. Do I like anything about it? Absolutely not,” Day said.

“But we have to do what’s right for Ohio State. So it’s sort of a day-to-day thing right now. Like anything, we’re just going to try to adapt. But I think we’d all agree, maybe not everybody, that there has to be a certain point where your roster gets locked in.”

What the decision means

The move from a Louisiana judge follows a change in the NCAA’s eligibility rules that was implemented this offseason, allowing Division I players a five-year timetable from their enrollment to play college football.

But putting that rule into practice notably didn’t include players from the 2022 class who used up their eligibility in four years, inspiring them to seek temporary restraining orders to restore their fifth year and go back to school.

In the process, the decision opened up a path for players cut by NFL teams and others who didn’t get an invitation to preseason training camp, and threw a giant wrench into college football teams’ meticulous roster-building efforts, suddenly forcing them to entertain potential additions just as the season is about to start.

Lanning raises precisely that question

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning concurred with Day’s opinion, and went one step further, saying those players shouldn’t come back to college.

“I think there’s a lot of negatives that are involved around this. One, once you go to the NFL, to me, you’re in the NFL. You don’t get the opportunity to come back,” Lanning said.

“Two, most of us have built our rosters and you have a limited roster limit now. So if you invited somebody back to your team, that means you’re kicking somebody else off your team to match your roster limits.”

But thinking those players shouldn’t come back is one thing. With the NCAA already saying it won’t change its approach to its new five-year rule, who will stop them?

“I don’t think that’s fair to the players that worked all summer, all spring,” Lanning said, “and put themselves in position to be ready to work for a team to have somebody come back.”

Fair or not, it looks like it’s about to happen.

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