When Colorado federal judge Charlotte Sweeney issued a class-wide preliminary injunction against the NCAA, ordering it to allow eligible players from the 2022–2023 classes to use their fifth year, it opened a door many were waiting for. Among those watching closely was former Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding, who now appears to be in a mood to take on the NCAA all by himself.

According to CFB insider Chris Hummer’s report on X, Fielding’s lawyer, Darren Heitner, told CBS Sports that his client plans to sue the NCAA in Illinois, seeking the ability to transfer and use his fifth season of eligibility.

His time in Columbus appeared to be over after he used all of his eligibility without ever taking a redshirt season. In June, though, the NCAA completely overhauled the redshirt system, granting all players five years of eligibility.

College football players previously had four years of eligibility within a five year window, with the extra-year reserved specifically for redshirting and available only to players who sat out a season due to injury or another qualifying circumstance. Players who never redshirted simply had no fifth season available to them.

That rule is gone for future players, but many from the 2022-23 recruiting classes believe they were treated unfairly under the old system and have turned to the courts to fix it.

Fielding went undrafted in 2026 before signing with the Ottawa Redblacks in May. His CFL stint lasted just 10 days before the team released him, and he never suited up for a game. With the Class of 2022 eligibility fight now playing out in real time, Fielding is the latest player looking to return to college football.

Following Judge Sweeney’s ruling, a brief transfer portal window could open for Class of 2022 athletes who’ve already used four seasons of eligibility, a category Fielding falls into. But the picture is more complicated than one ruling settling things cleanly. The original Class of 2022 relief reportedly wasn’t intended to extend to players who’d already signed professional contracts, exactly the situation Fielding is in after his CFL stint, which is likely why he needs his own case rather than simply relying on the existing injunction.

The legal landscape is shifting fast elsewhere, too. Just this week, a separate temporary restraining order was granted in a Louisiana case covering 16 different players, including former LSU edge rusher Jack Pyburn and several others, while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has filed an affidavit in that same case opposing the return of pro athletes to college rosters. Fielding and his lawyer had yet to file their lawsuit as of the most recent reporting.

Jayden Fielding’s Buckeye Comeback Hits a Major Roadblock

Jayden Fielding’s Ohio State career ended after 56 games across four seasons. In 2024, he helped the Buckeyes win the College Football Playoff National Championship game. That season, he went 73-for-73 on PATs and 13-for-17 on field goals, scoring 112 points. On paper, he had good numbers, but the reality was a bit different. Costly mistakes marked his final year with Ohio State.

His final season was defined by costly misses. He missed a pair of kicks against Michigan in 2024 and a potential game-tying field goal against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship the following year, and finally a miss against Miami in the College Football Playoff that closed out his Ohio State career for good. Those mistakes certainly didn’t help Ohio State’s cause, and the program wasted no time replacing him once he left.

The Buckeyes have already replaced him with former Baylor kicker Connor Hawkins, who is expected to handle placekicking duties for Ohio State in 2026. This effectively takes any path back to Ohio off the table for Fielding.

The only route back onto a college field runs through the transfer portal, and before that’s even possible, he has to win his case against the NCAA. Still, the fact that he’s pursuing legal action at all suggests he already has somewhere in mind.

“Fielding wouldn’t be returning for another season of college football unless he planned to go somewhere and start. Fielding was a pretty consistent kicker from short range until he wasn’t, including the 28-yard missed field goal against Indiana,” wrote A to Z Sports Ohio State insider Brandon Little.

With Heitner now preparing the filing and multiple eligibility cases already moving through different federal courts this month, Fielding’s case is set to become the next test of just how far this wave of lawsuits can stretch, and whether a kicker who’s already tried and failed at the professional level can convince a court he still belongs in college.