Steve Sarkisian rips coaches for bringing back NFL players after Texas OL rejoined team after NFL minicamp stints

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Steve Sarkisian is all for the SEC's move to stop programs from bringing back professional football players, even if it is a bit hypocritical. 

The Texas coach was asked about recent rulings in college sports that have been stopping teams from adding former NFL players to their rosters. The SEC, along with the other power conferences, has since put in a policy that will prohibit schools from rostering players who had signed professional contracts.

"These players on all of our rosters, not just ours, have been working for nine months for this moment on Saturday, which then will lead into the next five to six months," Sarkisian said, via CBS Austin's Bob Ballou. "The fact that somebody out there is going to take a player off of an NFL roster and tell somebody that's been doing it for nine months to go kick rocks, that doesn't sit well with me. I think that's wrong. That morally is wrong."

While it may not be as blatant as what LSU has attempted to do, Texas does have a player on its roster this fall that participated in minicamp with two NFL teams after going undrafted. Offensive lineman Cole Hutson received a state injunction and is practicing with the Longhorns. He's entering his fifth year of eligibility now this fall after previously playing in 48 games for the Longhorns, including making 23 starts. 

"Cole's a guy with so much experience, played a lot of football for us," Sarkisian said in July before Hutson was granted his injunction, via ESPN. "He's a guy that unfortunately didn't get drafted. So he puts himself in a bit of a different situation than maybe most guys that got done playing their fourth year in college."

The NCAA recently passed its "five in five" model, which granted athletes five years of eligibility. But Hutson is one of several athletes from the 2022 recruiting class who took legal action in order to gain that fifth year. 

There have been a number of players who had signed pro contracts attempting to return to college on NIL deals ever since. LSU has gotten the most attention on that front. And to be fair, there is a difference between participating in an NFL minicamp and signing a professional contract and making it to training camp.

The SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC have all passed similar resolutions banning players who had been drafted by pro teams or who had signed pro contracts from playing for their programs. That has only led to more legal challenges, and the SEC is exploring its options to address the Tigers' plans to add former pros to their roster — which apparently includes teams boycotting competition against them and even expulsion from the conference.

No. 5 Texas will open the season against Texas State on Saturday afternoon, before hosting top-ranked Ohio State on Sept. 12. Sarkisian is entering his sixth season with the Longhorns this fall. 

While it's unclear what role Hutson will have for their offensive line just yet, Sarkisian is, at least publicly, taking the side of the SEC in an eligibility fight that doesn't appear to be close to over.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos