Will College Basketball's eligibility crisis make its way to football?

One of the biggest stories in college sports this season has been the ongoing crisis that's overtaken college basketball. Earlier in the season, Baylor James Nnanji into college basketball despite the fact that he was drafted 31st overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. James Nnanji never made it to the NBA with a few stins playing in Summer League, but he started a ripple effect.

While the story of James Nnanji returning to college basketball made waves, Alabama has turned the sport on its head. Alabama brought back Charles Bediako, who played with the team from 2021 to 2023 before declaring for the NBA Draft, where he went undrafted. Bediako has signed several two-way contracts and was granted an injunction, but the judge had to later recuse himself due to being an Alabama booster.

The issue has only started to attract more former players to try and make a return, as former UCLA Bruins star Amari Bailey, who's played 10 games in the NBA, is trying to make a comeback.

Will college football suffer a similar fate to college basketball?

As there's more incentive than ever to return to college sports, the question will start to be asked whether or not we'll see a similar situation unfold in college football. Kalen DeBoer was asked about the situation at the Senior Bowl and pointed to the fact that we'll likely see these examples play out far before the college football season.

"I’m sure there will be some decisions and some examples that we’ll learn more from as people start to press the issue when it comes to the football side of things, as it’s related to that situation."

Kalen DeBoer

If there's a type of player who could try and make the case to return to college football, it'll have to be a player who declared for the draft with eligibility remaining and went undrafted. If there's a player with eligibility remaining who either went undrafted and never signed with a team or spent a season on the practice squad,

The college football coaches will likely have a close eye on some of these ongoing lawsuits in college basketball, and they'll certainly remember the results. The coaches are always looking for a way to get an advantage, and if there's a situation that provides it, we'll likely see a similar trend throughout the college football season next season.