Senior QBs Praise NCAA's 5-Year Eligibility Rule
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- Devon Dampier called the NCAA's new five-year eligibility model "fair all around," saying it ends waiver loopholes and "people getting their sixth and seventh years," though he still plans to enter the 2026 NFL draft and called the extra year a "safety belt"
- Avery Johnson (Kansas State), Jaylen Raynor (Iowa State), Anthony Colandrea (Nebraska), Aidan Chiles (Northwestern), Jackson Arnold (UNLV) and Nick Minicucci (Delaware) are the other fourth-year FBS starters eligible to return in 2027
- Avery Johnson said "all I'm really focused on is this year" and plans to defer the decision; Jaylen Raynor, a three-year Arkansas State starter who transferred to Iowa State, said he could pursue a Master's degree if he returns for a fifth year
- Collin Klein (Kansas State coach) cited Will Howard's 2021 situation — playing six games and losing a year of eligibility after a planned redshirt fell through — as exactly the kind of problem the new rule eliminates
- Byrd Ficklin re-signed with Utah ahead of his sophomore year as Dampier's clear successor, with coach Morgan Scalley calling it "a good problem to have" to have two quarterbacks of that caliber
- Players who used their final season of eligibility in 2025 will not be granted additional seasons under the reform, and coaches had pushed for approval by the end of last year to bring back more seniors
Why it matters: For seven named senior QBs including Dampier and Johnson, the reform converts a previously binary NFL-or-stay decision into a genuine deferrable option — Raynor is already eyeing a Master's if he stays. Klein's Howard anecdote shows it also closes a loophole that had punished programs when injury plans went sideways, while Utah's Ficklin re-signed specifically because the 2027 starting path is now locked in.
