USC football’s presumed starting left guard DJ Wingfield filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on July 28, challenging its five-year eligibility rule, alleging anticompetitiveness. The lawsuit was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. 

It comes after the redshirt senior’s transfer waiver was denied by the NCAA, putting his future as a Trojan in jeopardy. The NCAA requires players to use all four years of their eligibility over five years, but it has been six since Wingfield began his college football career at a community college.

“What’s happening with that — and not just DJ, across the country — just isn’t right. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years of coaching,” said USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley after an Aug. 1 practice. “Watching the kid push through it is amazing because what he’s going through, I can’t even begin to imagine.”

The case is scheduled to be heard Aug. 18 in district court by Judge James Selna, alongside two other similar lawsuits dealing with the five-year rule. Selna denied Wingfield’s bid for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA.

That means Wingfield will have missed weeks of practice ahead of USC’s season, even if the waiver is granted. The Trojans’ first game of the season is Aug. 30 against Missouri State. 

Waiver denial may cause ‘irreparable harm’

Wingfield has been playing some form of college football since 2019 but missed two seasons due to a medical redshirt after coronavirus-related extenuating circumstances in 2020 and an ACL injury in 2022.

Wingfield began his college career at El Camino College, a junior college, where he spent two seasons; he went on to play one season each at the University of New Mexico and Purdue University before ultimately transferring to USC in Spring 2025. Wingfield was practicing with the team up until his waiver was denied.

The NCAA’s five-year rule allows an individual to play four full seasons over five years once they begin at a “collegiate institution,” but according to the lawsuit, both Wingfield and USC believed the waiver would be approved due to previous court rulings. The 2025 season is six years after Wingfield’s first season at El Camino College in 2019.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a similar lawsuit against the NCAA in Tennessee, where a judge said his eligibility should not begin while at a junior college. While that ruling was not final, it was backed up by the ruling in Rutgers safety Jett Elad’s case in April, which the NCAA is challenging.

“By including time spent at junior colleges in the Five-Year Rule, the NCAA discourages college athletes from attending junior colleges, thereby harming the ability of junior colleges to compete with NCAA schools for talented athletes,” the lawsuit reads. “The NCAA’s anticompetitive conduct, coupled with its unreasonable denial of Wingfield’s meritorious request for a waiver, thus threatens him with immediate irreparable harm.”

The lawsuit also states that the waiver denial would cost Wingfield roughly $210,000 of “once-in-a-lifetime” name, image and likeness payments as well as a reputation boost by playing an additional year of Division I football.

NCAA stands by five-year rule

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the NCAA stood by its ruling, saying its eligibility rules are important in enabling “fair competition” and “broad access” to college athletics.

“The NCAA is making changes to modernize college sports but attempts to alter the enforcement of foundational eligibility rules — approved and supported by membership leaders — makes a shifting environment even more unsettled,” the statement read.

The NCAA also said it hopes to partner with Congress to create a concrete standard rather than having various courts make different rulings.

Lawyers for both Wingfield and the NCAA did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. USC denied a request for additional comment beyond Riley’s remarks.

What will the Trojans do up-front?

Wingfield’s absence is the latest blow to USC’s offensive line after Emmanuel Pregnon and Mason Murphy left in the transfer portal and Jonah Monheim was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL Draft.

Wingfield, who started 12 games for Purdue last season, would bring experience to the line, which is presumably made up of redshirt sophomore Elijah Paige at left tackle, redshirt senior J’Onre Reed at center, junior Alani Noa at guard and redshirt sophomore Tobias Raymond at right tackle. 

Before the waiver was denied, Riley said Wingfield was looking “really impressive” in practice and was quickly adjusting to his new team, according to On3.

“We obviously thought enough of him to sign him. He’s probably a little bit better than I thought he was, and I thought he was pretty good,” Riley said per On3. “He’s one of those guys, you plug him in there and even at the beginning of spring it looks like he’s been with us forever.”

Riley mentioned Raymond’s ability to move to left guard if Wingfield is unable to join the Trojans, according to the L.A. Times, but said that would make tackle a vulnerable position. Redshirt freshman Justin Tauanuu would presumably step into the right tackle spot in that case.

“I’m comfortable playing wherever Coach is comfortable with me playing,” Raymond said about the potential move according to the L.A. Times. “I’ll do whatever the team needs.”

Riley also mentioned sophomore Micah Banuelos and redshirt freshman Kaylon Miller as potential options, per the L.A. Times.