Quinn Ewers is now a freshman. Despite the fact that he is one of a number of highly recruited true freshmen that could see the field in 2021, it was not that long ago when none of them would have been able to play in their first seasons on campus.
It was nearly fifty years ago that the NCAA made freshmen eligible to play collegiate football and basketball. With the transfer portal and players now being permitted to profit from use of their names, images, or likenesses, it’s hard to contemplate such a restrictive rule.
Now, the trend is clearly in favor of players’ rights as individuals to negotiate their careers, as opposed to monopolistic NCAA practices.