It seems that more and more, courtroom rulings are impacting the landscape of college athletics. That was again true this week when Vanderbilt senior quarterback Diego Pavia won a landmark case. And that decision could mean that the Texas Tech football program would be able to welcome back offensive line starter Davion Carter for another season.
Pavia has won a temporary injunction allowing him to be eligible for the 2025 season despite having exhausted his five years of college eligibility (he was part of the group of players who were granted an extra year to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic). This ruling, if upheld, could have long-lasting ramifications on the college football landscape.
Pavia began his playing career at the JUCO level where he quarterbacked the New Mexico Military Institute in 2020 and 2021. He then transferred to New Mexico State for two seasons before palying at Vandy in 2024.
Pavia and his legal team argued in court that counting a player's JUCO career against his NCAA eligibility limits a player's ability to earn revenue under the new NCAA N.I.L. laws. Thus, if Pavia were to be unable to play in 2025, he could potentially lose millions of dollars after putting up a fantastic 2024 season that saw him throw for 2,133 yards and 17 TDs while rushing for 716 yards and six TDs.
Along the way, Pavia helped the Commodores reach their first bowl game since 2018. Thus, he would be a hot commodity on the open market.
While there will be more legal maneuvering with this case and it is yet to be seen if this ruling will ultimately be upheld, there is no question that programs across America are watching closely to see if their former JUCO players can follow in Pavia's footsteps. Texas Tech is reportedly one of those programs.
Thursday, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reporter Don Williams posted on X that Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said that the program is looking into whether or not starting guard Davion Carter can be eligiblie for the 2025 season despite exhausting his eligiblity in 2024.
With Diego Pavia winning injunction against NCAA yesterday for more eligibility related to his juco years at NMMI, Joey McGuire says Texas Tech staff will try to find out if starting senior OG Davion Carter, who played juco ball, might be able to return, too.
— Don Williams (@AJ_DonWilliams) December 19, 2024
Carter, who transferred to Texas Tech for this season after two years at Memphis, began his college career playing in the JUOC ranks at Northwest Mississippi Community College in 2020-21.
This season, the Pearl, Mississippi native was Tech's primary starter at right guard. He was one of the few consistent presences along the O-line as injuries and sub-par play at other positions led to massive personnel shuffling around him.
Though Texas Tech has brought in three offensive linemen in the transfer portal in the past week, being able to bring Carter back for another season would be a great luxury for the Red Raiders. After all, every season sees the offensive line suffer through injuries so having as many capable options along the line as possible is always a great idea.
So keep an eye on Pavia's case because it could forever alter the way college eligibility across all sports is measured. It could also lead to an extra year for a quality offensive line piece for the Red Raiders in 2025.