Texas beat Texas State 59-7 on September 5 in Week 1 to start its 2026 campaign on a high note. The Longhorns now turn toward Ohio State on September 12. However, Steve Sarkisian spent part of his Monday media session on a Texas lineman who still did not play in the season opener.
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The Texas head coach confirmed Monday that Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson remains ineligible even after NFL tryouts with the Cowboys and Browns. Hutson is back on the roster after a court fight for a fifth year.
“From Cole’s perspective, technically today he is ineligible, not because of the ruling [on players who signed NFL contracts and then sought a fifth year of eligibility], because of something different when it comes to the NCAA that he’s working through,” Sarkisian said during his weekly media remarks on September 7. “He’s in an appeal process with the NCAA, so that’s kind of where that’s at.”
He did not name the exact NCAA rule behind the appeal. No clear report explains exactly why Hutson has been ruled ineligible so far. However, Sarkisian revealed what the process is going to look like.
“We are respecting the SEC’s decision, and once he can get cleared, and if he gets cleared from the NCAA, then we’ll go back to the SEC,” the head coach confirmed. “He falls under a little different category than what so much of the hoopla was made around.”
The NFL visits are what made the story confusing. Hutson went undrafted in April 2026. He tried out at the Dallas Cowboys rookie minicamp late that month. Then, he tried out at the Cleveland Browns rookie minicamp the next week, but never signed a contract. He was never added to an NFL roster.
Hutson filed a lawsuit on July 17 in Travis County District Court. He challenged the NCAA’s age-based “five-for-five” rules that left out some players of the 2022 recruiting class who didn’t redshirt their freshman season. Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle granted a temporary restraining order on July 23.
A related federal class-action ruling in Colorado by Judge Charlotte Sweeney also favored 2022-class athletes later that month. On August 6, attorney David Ovard announced an agreement with the NCAA.
Texas said that Hutson had been “cleared to return … for his fifth year of eligibility.” He rejoined the team that day during fall camp. That earlier clearance is now in question again in the separate NCAA appeal Sarkisian described.
Hutson practiced after mid-August but did not play against Texas State. Hutson’s case is not happening by itself. The outcomes of other 2022-class players explain why Texas still has hopes.
How Cole Hutson’s case fits the 2022 eligibility fight
The Colorado federal ruling initially opened a door for the 2022 class. The 10th Circuit stayed that ruling on August 21. After the stay, most players required their own state-court orders.
Indiana’s defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt used four seasons in 2025 and never signed NFL contracts. After the stay, they received an Indiana state TRO, and both were cleared for the opener against North Texas. There’s one key difference. Daley and Wyatt never went to any NFL minicamps, but Hutson did.
Hutson played 48 games and made 23 starts from 2022 to 2025. He started all 13 games at right guard as a freshman in 2022 and played all 16 games in 2024. In 2025, he played 10 games and missed three due to lower-leg and toe injuries.
The OL was a 2023 Academic All-Big 12 Second Team pick and made the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He was part of Texas lines that were a Joe Moore Award semifinalist in 2023 and a finalist in 2024.
All of that still does not make him a lock to start. Against Texas State, the line was Trevor Goosby at left tackle, Dylan Sikorski at left guard, Connor Robertson at center, Brandon Baker at right guard, and Melvin Siani at right tackle.
Hutson’s last starting spots were center and left guard. Both jobs are filled. His most likely role is first interior backup. Even a midweek NCAA clearance would leave little practice time before Ohio State. The current five already played a full game together.
What is still unknown is the exact NCAA bylaw, and no new hearing date has been announced. The open question is whether the appeal can be settled in time for the Longhorns to use the veteran lineman this season.