DJ Wingfield lost his antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA and will not play for USC this season after a Monday afternoon hearing in Santa Ana, complicating the starting five on the Trojans’ offensive line.
“Whether it’s a situation like this, or somebody getting hurt, that’s just part of the game and the team’s ability to respond to that is just part of the path,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “We’ll look at – which we have been already with DJ not practicing – we’ll look at a few different lineups.”
District judge James V. Selna sided with the NCAA, meaning Wingfield’s eligibility to play college sports has expired. According to courtroom minutes, just 16 minutes were spent in court.
As a result, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound left guard will miss out on a $210,000 NIL deal with USC.
Courtroom minutes from the hearing state that “only compensation rules regulate commercial activity and are subject to the antitrust laws. True eligibility rules, contrarily, do not regulate commercial activity.” Meaning, the five-year eligibility rule is not covered by antitrust laws.
“I’m really disappointed for him,” Riley said. “It’s a very, very, very unique situation in so many ways. We’ve obviously been around him a lot, love the kid, and just really, really disappointed for him. But, obviously, we’ve got to move on. These things happen.”
Wingfield and his attorney, JaQay Carlyle, filed a legal complaint against the NCAA in late July stating that Wingfield had one more year of athlete eligibility remaining due to a waiver granted by the NCAA.
Carlyle did not reply to requests for comment.
Two other athletes – UCLA’s Kaedin Robinson and USD’s Jagger Giles – filed similar lawsuits and had their cases heard in the same session.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a waiver on Dec. 23, 2024 to permit student-athletes who competed at a non-member school, such as a junior college, to remain eligible for the 2025-26 season.
The waiver was developed after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was granted an injunction to allow for another year of eligibility on Dec. 18, 2024. Pavia had sued the NCAA and argued that counting junior college seasons is an antitrust law violation that limited his ability to profit from NIL deals.
Wingfield’s litigation was similar. He played two seasons at El Camino College in Torrance, then enrolled at New Mexico but redshirted due to a season-ending injury. He played the next season at New Mexico and another full season at Purdue before transferring to USC.
The team has been practicing without Wingfield while the litigation was ongoing. Now that his non-eligibility is certain, projecting a starter at left guard is still a challenge.
“It’s a tough situation, but we’ve got a lot of guys that can play a lot of positions,” offensive lineman Tobias Raymond said, “and I think everybody’s doing a good job of trying to find their part and fill in where they’re needed.”
Riley named multiple players who could compete at left guard, including Raymond, Justin Tauanuu, J’Onre Reed, Kaylon Miller, Micah Banuelos and Hayden Tretor.
The ability to transition between different spots on the line comes down to knowing assignments, Raymond said. The Ventura High product played in all 13 games last season and started in the Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M, giving him experience and an understanding of the interior.
“Everything’s a lot closer,” he said. “You’re not getting a super wide guy running straight up the field. You’ve got to be able to anchor down fast and be able to punch a guy quick and get on people a lot quicker. Double-teams are a lot faster at guard than they are at tackles, so it’s just a faster game at guard.
USC opens its season against Missouri State on Aug. 30 at the Coliseum.
Big Ten Network visits training camp
Big Ten Network’s Training Camp Tour visited USC practice on Tuesday evening.
Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth were on site to host the show, which is scheduled to first air Tuesday at 8 p.m. It will be re-aired throughout the week.