College football team reportedly to have several players sit out rest of season to preserve eligibility for transfer

Things are taking a disturbing turn for the SMU football program this week.

The Mustangs are 2-2 on the season heading into their game with Central Florida on Wednesday night.

Per a report from the Dallas Morning News, SMU is now going to be shorthanded for the remainder of the season.

According to reporter Joseph Hoyt, multiple Mustangs will refuse to play the rest of the season to take advantage of what is a newer redshirt rule in college football.

Those same players will preserve a year of eligibility by not playing in another game. Per the report, they will then opt to transfer after the season.

A development in a new era of college football.

Multiple SMU players plan to sit out the rest of season with intention to preserve their redshirt year and enter the transfer portal, multiple SMU staff members with knowledge of the situation said.https://t.co/lCGlyKJz90

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) October 3, 2022

Previously, any player who appeared in a college football game had used his eligibility for that season. But in 2018 the NCAA changed the rule to allow players who appeared in 4 games or less to take advantage of a redshirt year.

That rule combined with the NCAA allowing student athletes a one-time ability to transfer without sitting out for a year is creating some major problems at SMU.

Could this be the start of a trend? It’s definitely possible, especially as these same student athletes can now monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) to earn money while playing in college.

Add it all up and it’s easy to see why so many college football fans have absolutely zero faith in the future of the game as long as the NCAA remains involved.