Rashod Dubinion's college career looked finished. Instead, a judge just handed him a new one. On3's Pete Nakos reported Wednesday that the former App State back was granted a temporary restraining order and is set to enter the transfer portal, the latest in a growing line of players using the courts to reopen eligibility windows the NCAA had closed on them.
Former App State RB Rashod Dubinion has been granted a TRO today and is set to enter the transfer portal, a source tells @On3. t.co/wMrfFrcNOy
Dubinion is a Class of 2022 recruit out of Ellenwood, Georgia, who spent three seasons at Arkansas (2022-24) before transferring to App State for 2025. At Arkansas he ran for 888 yards and 8 touchdowns, with his best game a 112-yard, 2-touchdown showing against Kansas in the 2022 Liberty Bowl. He never redshirted, and by his own account he'd gotten mixed signals on how the NCAA's eligibility math actually applied to him.
That confusion is exactly what's fueling this legal wave. A Louisiana court case brought by more than 30 plaintiffs, including 16 college football players, has been granting TROs that let athletes argue their college clocks shouldn't have run out the way the NCAA said they did. Courts have sided with players like former JUCO champion QB Samari Collier and Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, and just this week a group of players tied to NFL rosters, including running back TJ Harden and tight end Dae'Quan Wright, got the green light to jump back into the portal outside the normal January window.
Dubinion's case fits the same mold: a player who thought his eligibility was spent, until a judge said otherwise. He'd already been dropping hints on social media, posting Arkansas highlights captioned 'Natural State,' which had fans speculating about a possible return to Fayetteville even before the TRO news broke.
Whether Arkansas is actually where he lands is still unknown, and a crowded Razorbacks running back room makes it no sure thing. But with a fresh restraining order in hand, Dubinion now has the freedom to pick his next school with a full season of eligibility restored, one more data point in a portal era where the courtroom is becoming as important as the depth chart.