The Arizona Wildcats added two players to their 105-man roster on Friday who originally had left the program to try and make it in the NFL after 2025. While LSU was nearly kicked out of the SEC for doing the exact same thing, the Big 12 cleared both guys to travel with the team from Tucson to Provo, Utah for a critical matchup with BYU this weekend.
Running back Ismail Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris will suit up for the Wildcats after earning a fifth year of eligibility via a court injunction. The pair sued the NCAA, alleging the new so-called five-for-five rule applied to them as members of the freshman class of 2022. A judge agreed and the Big 12 cleared them both to play for Arizona starting Saturday.
Mahdi was Arizona’s leading rusher in 2025, racking up 859 yards and four touchdowns on 134 carries. He transferred into the program after spending two seasons at Texas State. Harris was the Wildcats’ third-leading tackler last year with 39 earned on his own and forcing one fumble.
Why can Arizona add players that left for the NFL and LSU can’t?
There are some major differences between Arizona’s case and LSU’s when it comes to the late addition of players who had departed school for the NFL. The biggest of those is the fact that Mahdi and Harris never actually attended an NFL training camp, let alone signed a professional contract.
Tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, who LSU head coach Lane Kiffin brought to Baton Rouge, were cut from NFL teams after having signed contracts as undrafted free agents. That made them pros in the eyes of the NCAA and SEC, who both threatened severe sanctions against the Tigers had Kiffin actually added them to his roster. He ultimately chose not to.
So, in this case, Arizona’s new additions weren’t viewed as professionals despite having left the school and submitting their names for the NFL Draft. A separate court ruling in Louisiana earlier in the summer stated players that had not been drafted and hadn’t signed a professional contract were still eligible to return to school under the NCAA’s five-for-five rule. The only additional limitation was that those players could only return to the school they departed unless they had entered their names into the transfer portal during the appropriate window.
Arizona’s returning duo are compliant with the Big 12’s anti-NFL player rule, passed in the wake of the LSU controversy, and are eligible to play simply by virtue of a judge’s interpretation of the five-for-five rule. Granted, there are plenty of fans and pundits who view any player that declared for the draft, went through the scouting combine process and didn’t hear their name called as being a professional. All of that takes place roughly three to four months after the end of the college season and by the time a player decides to not pursue signing with a team post-April, college programs have already mostly completed their spring ball proceedings.
Considering the narrowly-tailored nature of these rulings — as they only apply to the class of 2022 seeking a fifth-year of eligibility — the 2026 college football season may be the only campaign afflicted with the confusion bred by them. However, other factors such as where the line is drawn for defining a professional and amateur athlete will have long-reaching effects on the future of the sport. Arizona’s case just happens to fall on the side of fair play.
