Stephen Daley's college career looked finished. He tore a knee ligament celebrating Indiana's Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State, missed the entire College Football Playoff run, and by every normal accounting had used up his eligibility after four seasons split between Kent State and Indiana. Then a federal judge in Colorado blew that timeline up.
The ruling stems from a class-action lawsuit brought by a Northern Colorado basketball player challenging the NCAA's age-based eligibility model, which quietly excluded the entire high school class of 2022 from a fifth year that everyone else in the new system gets. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney certified a nationwide class and issued a preliminary injunction ordering the NCAA to let those athletes play on, provided they're under 24 and haven't signed a pro contract. Daley, who led the Big Ten with 19 tackles for loss in 2025 despite the injury wiping out his playoff, fits the class exactly — and Cignetti wasted no time reacting.
Curt Cignetti today on Stephen Daley: "If it all works out and he can participate and help this football team, then his life could change. I know one thing about him, he'll give it his best shot, he really will, and we'll just see what happens." Adds that he emerged as "the most dominant defensive lineman in Big Ten."
Cignetti's comments carried real weight given what's at stake medically. "If it all works out and he can participate and help this football team, then his life could change," the coach said, a reminder that Daley still has to prove the knee holds up before any of this becomes a snap count. But the fact he's even back in the building changes Indiana's defensive front outlook heading into a season where the Hoosiers are trying to prove last year wasn't a one-off.
Daley isn't Indiana's only domino. Pete Nakos has been tracking tight end Holden Staes, who has 38 career catches for 380 yards and is now exploring his own return under the same ruling, plus linebacker Kellan Wyatt as a name to watch.
The ripple effects go well beyond Bloomington. Nakos also flagged that Georgia players Jamichael Stillwell, Chauncey Wiggins and RJ Godfrey secured their own injunction against the NCAA in a separate suit, and the NCAA itself has acknowledged in a letter to membership that the Colorado case is just one of several lawsuits attacking the eligibility framework it adopted.
Jamichael Stillwell, Chauncey Wiggins, RJ Godfrey and others have been granted an injunction against the NCAA in their suit in Georgia, attorneys @ryandownton and @heitner tell @On3.
The NCAA has already filed notice of appeal, warning that the ruling threatens to destabilize rosters that were already set for 2026-27 — which tells you this isn't close to settled. For now, though, Indiana just got its best pass rusher back for a run at defending its playoff berth, and every other program with a Class of 2022 senior is scrambling to figure out who else just un-retired.