Cade Klubnik back at Clemson? Bryan Thomas Jr. back at South Carolina? Theoretically entirely possible after judge’s ruling on Friday night

Clemson fans had thought they’d seen the last of quarterback Cade Klubnik and forward RJ Godfrey? And South Carolina fans thought Bryan Thomas Jr. and DQ Smith had taken their last snaps with the Gamecock defense? Well, think again.

Thanks to a ruling Friday night by Colorado US District Court Judge Sweeney, athletes who began their careers in 2022 and finished this spring are eligible, under the new 5-for5-rule, to play again this season.

The judge found that the new rule, which was meant to affect those who started in 2023, would cause irreparable harm to those who started in college a year earlier, so she issued a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.

The NCAA is expected to appeal the ruling.

Now, Klubnik, Thomas Jr. and Smith are all in NFL camps at the moment, and the only way they could/would return to their schools would be a quick release from their pro teams.

But, stranger things have happened!

So, which fourth-year seniors on the football rosters at Clemson and South Carolina this past academic year would be eligible to return for the 2026-27 school year?

Clemson Football:

QB Cade Klubnik

RB Adam Randall

DB Jeadyn Lukus

LB Wade Woodaz

OT Blake Miller

Clemson Basketball:

Guard Butta Johnson

Forward RJ Godfrey

Guard Dillon Hunter

USC Football:

DE Bryan Thomas Jr.

SAF DQ Smith

USC Basketball:

Forward Mike Sharavjamts

Forward Nordin Kapic