Syracuse: Will any Orange players try to regain eligibility from their JUCO days?

A longshot but these days who knows

Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

After Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a court injunction to allow him to play another season in 2025, former TNIAAM writer Brian Tahmosh reached out to ask us how this might impact any Syracuse Orange.

In case you missed the story, or don’t want to read the decision, Pavia’s lawyers argued that his two years of JUCO play shouldn’t count towards his four years of NCAA eligibility because it wasn’t under the NCAA. Now the Pavia decision only impacts his eligibility, not all players who spent a season at a junior college, but it does crack open the door for them to file similar cases.

So when we look at the Syracuse roster, there is one position which would see a difference for the 2025 Orange if they followed this path. Starting offensive lineman J’Onre Reed, Mark Petry and Jakob Bradford were at junior colleges prior to coming to Syracuse. Do you think Fran Brown would feel better about returning this experienced group to anchor the offensive line in 2025? With David Wohlabaugh, Enrique Cruz, Joe Cruz and others pushing to take over, the spring competition would build a stronger unit heading into the tough schedule next season.

Another position where the Orange look to be headed towards a huge turnover is the defensive backfield. We don’t know if Duce Chestnut will be back at safety but Berry Buxton III has more eligibility without needing to get the courts involved. However Pavia’s case, combined with the expected scholarship limit rise to 105, could mean that there are players who thought they’d be done who could become potential transfer additions this week, or in the spring.

The NCAA has had a tough time winning these court cases (and note as far as we know McCord’s appeal is still at the NCAA level, not in front of a judge), so it’s worth keeping an eye on as we look at what the 2025 Syracuse roster could be.