USC’s DJ Wingfield, UCLA’s Kaedin Robinson denied fifth year of eligibility in court ruling

USC offensive lineman DJ Wingfield and UCLA wide receiver Kaedin Robinson transferred to their respective schools in search of a fifth year of eligibility, but a U.S. District Court judge denied their injunctive relief, preventing them from playing the 2025 season. San Diego State linebacker Jagger Giles also had his eligibility request denied.

According to the Los Angeles Times, USC offered Wingfield $210,000 in NIL and UCLA built a $450,000 package for Robinson. Wingfield was on track to start on the Trojans’ offensive line and Robinson had a chance to be one of the Bruins’ top receiving targets. Their ineligibility is a significant blow to both programs, and Wingfield’s is particularly harmful to USC, which is extremely thin on the interior offensive line.

The NCAA denied both players’ eligibility waivers in the spring. They went to the court system to argue that the NCAA’s ruling violated antitrust laws and would cause “irreparable harm” by disallowing them from earning NIL money. The judge rejected the arguments, though, leaving them with few options. They can appeal the ruling but may not hear a final decision in time to play this year.

“There is a subtle difference between a rule that retrains NIL compensation and a rule that limits one’s potential to negotiate a NIL agreement,” the judge said. “Putting aside the NIL agreements, the question of whether a player’s time has run remains in full force. The eligibility question is not tethered to the question of compensation or commercial transaction.”

The judge also noted that Wingfield waited five months to request a temporary restraining order after the NCAA’s ineligibility ruling, and the delay weakened the “irreparable harm” claim.

Wingfield and Robinson are far from the only athletes to seek additional eligibility through the courts. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a landmark case at the end of the 2024 season that granted him a fifth year because the court ruled the NCAA’s inclusion of junior college seasons toward its eligibility clock limited his NIL earning potential. Not all players who followed in Pavia’s footsteps received the same ruling, though.

Wingfield joined USC by way of Purdue in an intraconference transfer. He opened his career at El Camino Junior College, spent one year at New Mexico, played the 2024 season at Purdue and hit the portal as a four-star prospect and the No. 7 interior offensive lineman in the transfer cycle. He started all 12 games for the Boilermakers last fall at the right guard spot.

Robinson landed at UCLA in somewhat of a transfer package deal with his quarterback at Appalachian State, Joey Aguilar. Aguilar did not stick with the Bruins and instead moved to Tennessee, but Robinson remained with the program into fall camp. He was a three-star prospect in the portal and is fresh off an 840-yard season. Robinson started his career at UCF and peaked with App State in 2023 when he led the Sun Belt with 10 receiving touchdowns.