On Dec. 18, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that gave Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia another year of college eligibility.
Pavia sued the NCAA last month, claiming his junior college experience (he played two years at a junior college in New Mexico) shouldn’t count toward his overall years of eligibility. He claimed it was a violation of antitrust law that unfairly limited his ability to make money from his name, image and likeness.
This ruling could have massive implications on college athletics. Now players can contest having junior college years count toward their eligibility totals, as Pavia did, if the NCAA even bothers trying to enforce that rule any longer.
Georgia’s Colbie Young is one of those players. Similar to Pavia, Young transferred to Georgia with one year of eligibility remaining. However, he started his collegiate career with one year at Lackawanna College, a junior college. He played two seasons for the Miami Hurricanes before transferring to Georgia.
With Georgia, Young played five games before his indefinite suspension from the team following his arrest in October. He is awaiting trial, and it is unlikely he plays in the Sugar Bowl.
Considering Georgia is on the hunt for wide receivers in the transfer portal, getting Young back for another year could be beneficial. Young could also transfer to another receiver-needy team.
Young is one of many players in Georgia’s history who attended junior college before becoming a Bulldog. Devonte Wyatt started at Hutchinson CC before playing with the Bulldogs and becoming a first-round NFL draft selection. Javon Wims is another UGA player who attended a JUCO and was drafted in the NFL.
Of course, Stetson Bennett, who left Georgia in 2017, spent a year at community college in 2018 before returning to the Bulldogs in 2019 and leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles. If this ruling were a few years earlier, he could’ve had another year of eligibility at Georgia and potentially led the Bulldogs to a three-peat in 2023.
This ruling could also affect recruits for Georgia. JUCO prospect Seven Cloud recently committed to Georgia as a member of the 2026 recruiting class. This ruling would make JUCO recruits more valuable in the long run.
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