Southern Miss football contacts four former players eligible under court ruling

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney of Colorado granted a preliminary injunction on July 31 that would give players who were in the high school class of 2022 an extra year of eligibility.

The NCAA is appealing this injunction, but Southern Miss football coach Blake Anderson is monitoring the situation and has already been in contact with several players who could return should the ruling be upheld.

“We’ve obviously been monitoring it. We’ve talked to the four guys that fit our roster that would potentially have that opportunity,” Anderson said on Aug. 4. “We’ve talked to the kids, we’ve talked to the staff and really we’re just kind of waiting in the next 24 to 48 hours to see if this thing stays the way it is or if it changes or if it gets shut down completely.”

The injunction came after players from the high school class of 2022 were excluded from the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model, which gives athletes a continuous five-year eligibility window based on the athlete’s age. The previous model gave players four seasons of eligibility in a five-year window.

Under the new model, only current athletes with eligibility remaining and prospects who enroll full time at any university in 2026 or later benefit from a fifth season, but Sweeney’s ruling would allow graduating seniors to return and use a fifth year of eligibility.

The four players Anderson has been in contact with about a potential return are offensive linemen Aloali’i Maui and Greg Nunnery, defensive lineman Jameer Lewis and tight end Kyirin Heath.

“I am ready and willing to return for a fifth year of college football if deemed eligible under the new NCAA ruling for the Class of 2022,” Maui said in a social media post on Aug. 3. “I have stayed prepared and would be grateful for the opportunity to compete one more season and represent a program with pride. Thank you.”

I am ready and willing to return for a fifth year of college football if deemed eligible under the new NCAA ruling for the Class of 2022. I have stayed prepared and would be grateful for the opportunity to compete one more season and represent a program with pride. Thank you pic.twitter.com/jnPoFe6GST

— Aloalii Maui (@AloaliiM) August 3, 2026

Maui started 11 games at right guard for Southern Miss in 2025. Nunnery started in 13 games, three at left tackle and 10 at left guard. If they returned to the Golden Eagles, the pair would bolster an offensive line that has little experience.

In 2025, Heath caught 19 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns and Lewis recorded 32 tackles and three sacks.

“The fan base, you know, I have been getting blown up with DMs saying ‘Bring our guys back,’ ” Anderson said. “Look, we’re on it but all of it is out of our control. So we’ve just got to wait and monitor and see what happens.”

With the season opener Sept. 5 against Alcorn State, Anderson is aware adding a former player still presents some obstacles outside the courtroom.

“I don’t know if any of them are in football shape,” Anderson said. “They’ll all tell you they’re in great shape and that they’ve been working out but you won’t find out until you put them out there. … Anybody that we would potentially add, the chances of them helping our team very quickly I would think would be very small. I would think that they would impact the team at some point, but you’re going to have a learning curve.”

Davis Wilson covers Southern Miss athletics and Hattiesburg news for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at DWilson@hattiesb.gannett.com or find him on X at @Davis_Wilson.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football contacts four former players eligible under court ruling