Junior college ruling: Could Boise State’s leading receiver return in 2025?

Court injunction allows additional eligibility for junior college players

Boise State Broncos wide receiver Cameron Camper. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Cameron Camper, a fifth-year senior, is Boise State’s leading receiver with 55 catches for 837 yards and four touchdowns. 

The 6-foot-3, 203-pound Camper is considered an NFL Draft prospect, but the talented receiver might not be done playing for the Broncos after the College Football Playoff.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction that allows star Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia the opportunity to pursue another year of eligibility. 

In a lawsuit filed against the NCAA in November, Pavia argued that the organization’s eligibility rules are a violation of antitrust law that limit his ability to profit off his name, image and likeness. Pavia spent his first two college seasons playing at the junior college level for New Mexico Military Institute. 

NCAA athletes are typically granted five years to play four seasons. This was extended to six years for any athletes that had their careers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pavia argued that his seasons at the junior college level, which falls outside of NCAA jurisdiction, should not count against his NCAA eligibility. 

“We’re not saying the NCAA can't have eligibility requirements,” Pavia’s attorney Ryan Downton said. “But a junior college season shouldn’t be the equivalent of an NCAA season when the junior college season has no meaningful opportunities to earn NIL, no television exposure.” 

The injunction is not a final decision on the case, but the ruling means Pavia cannot be barred from college football until the case is resolved. The final ruling will likely come in 2025. 

While the injunction only applies to Pavia, it is widely believed that the NCAA will not enforce its eligibility rules against any former junior college player. That would open the door for players like Camper to continue playing college football next season. 

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, a former junior college quarterback who then played for BYU, believes the NCAA should not back down. 

“I totally disagree with the NCAA’s determination on this,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “We chose to go to junior college football, and that’s where we wanted to start and play our careers. So I don’t understand it at all. We’re going to have guys 28 and 29 years old playing college football. Like, what’s the point? I don’t get it, I don’t understand it, I totally disagree with it.”

Camper spent two seasons at Trinity Valley Community College and two seasons at Indiana before transferring to Boise State in January.

Other notable Broncos who spent time at the junior college level are cornerback A’Marion McCoy, offensive tackle Daylon Metoyer and wide receiver Chris Marshall. McCoy is a senior while Marshall and Metoyer are both juniors. 

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