NCAA will grant extra year of eligibility to all athletes in fall sports

Roster management in college football is about to get a lot more complicated.

The NCAA has approved a proposal to allow all athletes in fall sports to not lose a season of eligibility, regardless of whether they have seasons or not. Stadium reporter Brett McMurphy broke the news.

Now the question becomes how will the NCAA allow schools to decide how they’ll use this new ruling. Currently, schools are permitted 85 scholarships each season, but that number obviously has to expand to allow players to return for extra years of eligibility, namely seniors who would otherwise graduate and expire their eligibility.

I seriously doubt the NCAA wouldn’t let schools have more than 85 scholarship players for at least a few years. If they were to keep the limit at 85, that’s going to hurt a lot of high school recruits who are already committed to schools who would likely keep key seniors for another season.

Senior-heavy teams like the 2020 Kentucky Wildcats could benefit heavily from this, depending on what their seniors decide to do. Guys like quarterback Terry Wilson, offensive tackle Landon Young, running back A.J. Rose, cornerback Brandin Echols, linebacker Boogie Watson, and senior nose tackle Quinton Bohanna may still opt to enter the 2021 NFL Draft, but they should at least have the option to come back.

Other senior starters for Kentucky this upcoming season include center Drake Jackson, offensive guard Luke Fortner, safety Davonte Robinson, tight end Justin Rigg, and wide receiver Josh Ali.

Imagine how good Kentucky can be in 2021 if they just get half of these guys back for another year.