This offseason, the NCAA finally moved to control the ever-lengthening careers of college athletes by instituting the five-in-five, age-based eligibility model. However, because it’s the NCAA, it had to make a mess of it by not grandfathering Class of 2022 athletes, who had exhausted their four seasons of eligibility in four years, into the role.
That decision led to lawsuits, which, as nearly every lawsuit against the NCAA is, were successful. However, the initial injunction granted by a federal court in Colorado only applied to players who hadn’t signed a professional contract and did not allow players to enter the transfer portal retroactively.
Class of 2022 players who signed NFL contracts this offseason granted eligibility through TRO
Naturally, players who would not have left for the professional ranks and who would’ve entered the transfer portal had they known they would be granted a fifth year of eligibility sued, and on Wednesday, a group of 16 football players, including multiple in NFL training camps, won their eligibility and portal access through a temporary restraining order.
This ruling, from a federal court in Louisiana, has essentially opened the floodgates just 10 days before Week 0 of the 2026 college football season. Schools have already made additions based on prior rulings, and more moves are expected as the NFL cutdown approaches, but don’t expect Penn State to be in the mix.
Campbell was asked about exploring a move at his media availability on Thursday and was as clear as could be:
“No.” Campbell said, “We’ve got enough as it is. We’re just trying to create the best team we can right now, internally, and I’m really grateful for the guys that we’ve got.”
Penn State coach Matt Campbell on adding players due to shifting eligibility rules: pic.twitter.com/Vb2QYzRZRn
— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) August 20, 2026
Penn State will not add to its roster before the season
The Class of 2022 was one of the strongest in Penn State history, bringing Abdul Carter, Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, and many other multi-year contributors to Happy Valley under James Franklin. Most of those players who would be worth adding to this year’s roster were drafted this spring and are expected to make NFL rosters.
Plus, with a new coaching staff in place, it would be considerably more difficult to onboard them into the system than it would have been if Franklin were still at the helm.
As for an outside addition for players who enter the portal, Penn State is actually well-positioned to bring somebody in because of how soft its non-conference schedule is to start the year, playing Marshall, Temple, and Buffalo. That would give a new face time to get up to speed, but Campbell is not that type of coach.
Matt Campbell has always been about building a culture and developing his own players. Of course, he hasn’t shied away from the transfer portal, but he’s never sought an easy fix or a shortcut, and that’s not going to change because of a court ruling just weeks before his first season.
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