Steve Sarkisian is all for the SEC’s move to stop programs from bringing back professional football players, even if it is a bit hypocritical.
The Texas coach was asked about recent rulings in college sports aimed at stopping teams from adding former NFL players to their rosters. The SEC, along with the other power conferences, has adopted a policy that will prohibit schools from rostering players who signed professional contracts.
“These players on all of our rosters, not just ours, have been working for nine months for this moment on Saturday, which then will lead into the next five to six months,” Sarkisian said, via CBS Austin’s Bob Ballou. “The fact that somebody out there is going to take a player off of an NFL roster and tell somebody that’s been doing it for nine months to go kick rocks, that doesn’t sit well with me. I think that’s wrong. That morally is wrong.”
While it might not be as blatant as what LSU has attempted to do, Texas has a player on its roster who participated in minicamp with two NFL teams after going undrafted. Offensive lineman Cole Hutson received a state injunction and is practicing with the Longhorns. He’s entering his fifth year of eligibility this fall after previously playing in 48 games for the Longhorns, including making 23 starts.
“Cole’s a guy with so much experience, played a lot of football for us,” Sarkisian said in July before Hutson was granted his injunction, via ESPN. “He’s a guy that unfortunately didn’t get drafted. So he puts himself in a bit of a different situation than maybe most guys that got done playing their fourth year in college.”
The NCAA recently passed its “five in five” model, which granted athletes five years of eligibility. Hutson is one of several athletes from the 2022 recruiting class who took legal action to gain that fifth year.
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A number of players who signed pro contracts have attempted to return to college on NIL deals. LSU has gotten the most attention on that front. To be fair, there is a difference between participating in an NFL minicamp and signing a professional contract and making it to training camp.
The SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC have all passed resolutions banning players who were drafted by pro teams or who signed pro contracts from playing for their programs. That has only led to more legal challenges, and the SEC is exploring its options to address the Tigers’ plans to add former pros to their roster. Those options reportedly include teams boycotting competition against LSU and even expulsion from the conference.
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No. 5 Texas will open the season against Texas State on Saturday before hosting top-ranked Ohio State on Sept. 12. Sarkisian is entering his sixth season with the Longhorns.
While it’s unclear what role Hutson will play for the offensive line, Sarkisian is, at least publicly, taking the side of the SEC in an eligibility fight that doesn’t appear to be close to over.
