Minnesota's kicking competition muddied by NCAA eligibility court ruling

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The eligibility chaos across college football has seeped into depth charts for several programs with the regular season fast approaching.

The competition at Minnesota for the place kicking job has sure become complicated.

Brady Denaburg handled that job last year for the Gophers after spending his first three college seasons at Syracuse, and he was out of the picture until a federal judge in Denver ruled on July 31 that athletes from the 2022 high school class were eligible for a fifth year .

The NCAA had previously excluded that class from the new “five-for-five” rule that was designed to add clarity and fairness to college sports in the wild era of the transfer portal, revenue sharing and name, image and likeness earnings.

The Denver ruling was then temporarily halted on Friday by an appeals court injunction, putting thousands of athletes nationwide, like Denaburg, back in the lurch.

“Playing’s in limbo,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said after practice on Monday, just 10 days before his team's opener against Eastern Illinois. “I do hope that we come to some resolution at some point about what we’re going to do with all these players, because at the end of the day, if all we say is it’s about the student-athlete, then we have to make the decisions for them. Right, wrong or indifferent, legal cases, all those things, let’s get some direction of exactly what they’re going to be able to do. Because it’s lawsuit after lawsuit, just a ping-pong match that goes back and forth.”

The confusion also has spilled into Indiana's national championship title defense.

Following the initial ruling, sixth-ranked Indiana welcomed back two starting defensive linemen — Stephen Daley, who was the Big Ten's co-leader in tackles for loss (19) last season despite getting injured during the conference championship game celebration, and Kellan Wyatt, who missed the final nine games last season with a knee injury in mid-October.

Daley and Wyatt were practicing, for now, and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti threw his full support behind them on Monday.

“I think in their case, you’re creating opportunities,” Cignetti said. "You look at Wyatt, he started less than half the games last year and got hurt. Then, Daley started six out of 16 games, got hurt. Both had pro potential, but because of injury didn’t end up in NFL camp. We’d have to make no roster cuts if they’re eligible to play. We’re going to support them in their quest to be eligible to play.”

For the Gophers, it's even more nuanced than that.

The federal ruling from Denver was clarified three days later to exclude athletes who'd already signed professional contracts, which prompted a countersuit filed in Louisiana state court that gained a temporary restraining order on Wednesday. Former New Mexico kicker Luke Drzewiecki, who was in rookie minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens this spring, was in that group.

Drzewiecki entered the transfer portal and picked Minnesota, following special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato, who'd jumped from the Lobos to Gophers this offseason.

With sophomore Daniel Jackson and Michigan transfer Beckham Sunderland, who has begun his third college season, the Gophers now have four kickers in the mix in practice. Anywhere between two and four of them will be eligible to play in the opener, which has obviously complicated the decision for Fleck and Da Prato.

“It kind of reminds you of the 2020 season with COVID. You didn’t know who was going to play. You didn’t know who passed the test right before the game or who wouldn’t pass the test,” Fleck said. “You’d have no idea, so you had to prepare for all of it. In that small scale, it’s kind of a little bit what we’re preparing for.”

With four kickers rotating, the Gophers have spent more time on field goal drills in fall camp than they have in the past. Sunderland also had Da Prato as a special teams coordinator at Texas State in 2024. He has never attempted a kick in a college game, only kickoffs. Jackson took two extra points and three kickoffs last season.

Denaburg was 33 for 33 on extra points last year and 14 for 21 on field goals, missing three of five attempts from 40-plus yards. Drzewiecki sparkled for New Mexico during his senior season, making 36 of 36 extra points and 18 of 19 field goals.

“We don’t know what will happen and who will be eligible and who won’t be eligible. You’d love some answers as soon as possible,” Fleck said. “We’re preparing for some of those guys to be eligible and we’re also preparing for everybody to be eligible, and that’s why this kicking competition continues to go through all the way."

AP Sports Writer Mike Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

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