The Division I Cabinet unanimously approved of an age-based eligibility rule for all sports on Tuesday. The new NCAA rule overhauls previously existing guidelines.
The rule permits "Division I student-athletes up to five years of eligibility if they enroll in college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday," according to the NCAA's statement.
In other words, student-athletes get five years once they either enroll into college or turn 19 — whichever comes first. It eliminates eligibility extension waivers, sport-specific eligibility guidelines, redshirt rules, medical exemption, international player loopholes, etc. and puts every NCAA Division I student-athlete under this five-in-five umbrella.
Some Penn State athletics will run into complications with this new rule. The men's basketball team, for example, has relied on quite a few international recruits who are older. Hockey will also experience some turmoil due to traditional junior league paths student-athletes take prior to college.
One Nittany Lion program that will actually benefit from the new rule, though, is football.
When former head coach James Franklin was fired midseason, Terry Smith stepped up as interim head coach and had to make some significant changes to what the blue and white put out on the field. That meant certain true freshman burned their redshirts: cornerback Daryus Dixson, wide receiver Koby Howard, linebacker Alex Tatsch, defensive end LaVar Arrington II, and defensive end Yvan Kemajou.
Per the NCAA and how it plans on implementing the rule change, current student-athletes with remaining eligibility following the 2025-26 academic year can base their eligibility on the new age-based model if it is most beneficial to them.
This means that rather than those five players burning their redshirt as a true freshman, which would allow them just three remaining years of eligibility under the previously existing four-in-five rules, that group of Nittany Lions will still have four seasons left to play.
Defensive end Alexander McPherson, safety Omarion Davis, linebacker Chris Fileppo, and punter Nathan Tiyce who transferred to Penn State after their true freshman season and burned their redshirts in 2025-26 will also benefit from the NCAA rule change.
Last season for Penn State football was unexpected. Smith turned the season around for the Nittany Lions and they made the most of what they had left, but burning a redshirt to fight for a non-playoff bowl game appearance when the program's expectations were significantly higher than that heading into the season can feel like somewhat of a waste. Those five returning players don't have to worry about that anymore.
For a player like Dixson who was going to burn his redshirt regardless of what happened in the season, Penn State gets to reap the benefits of his talent for longer. On the other hand, a player like Howard who didn't have a chance to showcase his full potential has that extra year to put together a meaningful campaign.
The 2025-26 season showed Smith and the new staff in Happy Valley what that true freshman class can do. Smith and head coach Matt Campbell got lucky that they can build on what those players proved out on the field without worrying about their eligibility clock running out.
Add us as a preferred source on Google