Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson, who regained a fifth year of eligibility in a court case after participating in two NFL minicamps, is currently ineligible to play for the Longhorns, according to coach Steve Sarkisian.
Hutson played in 48 games for the Longhorns -- with 23 starts at three positions -- before he exhausted his eligibility last fall. After going undrafted, he participated in minicamps with the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys but did not land a professional contract.
"Technically today he is ineligible, not because of the ruling, because of something different when it comes to the NCAA that he's working through," Sarkisian said Monday. "But as I said before, 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 and what does that look like?"
Sarkisian said he believes Hutson's case is different from the debate about NFL players returning to college because he essentially was in two tryouts but never signed a professional contract.
"He falls under a little different caveat," Sarkisian said. "We'll leave it up to the NCAA and then we'll leave it up to the SEC to determine if he's eligible to play for us or not."
In July, Hutson filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Travis County, Texas, seeking an additional year of eligibility -- part of a wave of players who sought another season following the NCAA's new 5-for-5 plan that gives new players a blanket five years of eligibility when they enter college.
Afterward, U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney granted players like Hutson the right to play another year of college sports.