This past week, the NCAA was rocked with a new court ruling from Colorado U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney. She granted a preliminary injunction to declare all athletes from the class of 2022 eligible for the 2026 season. This move aligns with the new five-for-five eligibility policy.

On Friday, Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado granted a preliminary injunction requiring the NCAA to declare eligible all high school Class of 2022 athletes who completed four seasons this spring.

That means every college athlete who had expiring… pic.twitter.com/YQZhxQmSYx

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 1, 2026

This has prompted many in the world of college football to explore adding players who were initially thought to not have any eligibility left. The Florida Gators are in an interesting spot, as they only had three of their 22 seniors who didn’t have a redshirt season. It’s also important to note that players would only be allowed to return to their original teams unless they had already entered the transfer portal.

Any players who are exploring a return to college football will not be able to transfer unless they entered their name in January. https://t.co/c5WYf96WgJ

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) August 2, 2026

Florida Gators could have had major assets in 2026

With the Gators having so many redshirt seniors on the roster, they wouldn’t have many players available to return. In fact, the only two that would make sense would be cornerback Devin Moore and kicker Trey Smack, both of whom were selected in the NFL Draft this past April.

Now, neither player is likely to try and come back to the Gators after being selected in the NFL Draft, but they both are likely to play significant roles, especially with Moore potentially winning a starting job in Dallas. Where things could be different is if both players decided to return to Gainesville.

They both would have had the opportunity to return, and it could have been huge for the Gators. Moore would have slotted in at outside cornerback to pair once again with Dijon Johnson, giving defensive coordinator Brad White a solid duo to go into the 2028 season with.

Smack likely would have returned to be the Gators’ kicker, and been among the best in the nation. Patrick Durkin, a transfer from Tulane, is currently set to be the kicker in 2025, and he was solid last season, hitting 25-28 field goals last season. It would still be an improvement for the Gators to have Smack, and this rule change would have been a huge benefit for the Gators.

Moving forward, the basketball team will get a huge addition with Denzel Aberdeen, and Micah Handlogten could end up coming back as well, but he is currently in the transfer portal. Those two additions could be huge for another run at a national championship.