The procession of members of the high school class of 2022 to be able to compete in a fifth year of eligibility rolls on.
Both former Miami (Fla.) tight end Alex Bauman and ex-Boise State defensive back Jeremiah Earby received a temporary restraining order and given a path to compete for the University of Michigan football team.
Judge Julia B. Owdziej, ruling for the 22nd Washtenaw County Circuit Court in Ann Arbor, Mich., granted each a temporary restraining order on Tuesday for both players who were in the transfer portal.
Bauman and Earby are currently enrolled at Michigan but have not officially signed, according to reports, while CBS Sports was the first to report that Wolverines are adding the pair through the transfer portal.
A Michigan spokesperson declined comment.
According to court records, both players filed for the temporary restraining order on Sept. 25 and a preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 4.
Owdziej ruled that both players are eligible to play this season. She wrote that denying them eligibility would be “irreparable and severe,” and the harm to the NCAA would be “negligible.”
The NCAA has not commented, although NCAA president Charlie Baker did respond to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s signing an executive order earlier this week, giving the state’s colleges and universities the option to permit athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 to compete in the 2026-27 college academic year.
“One elected official seeking to make their own rules for their own schools’ advantage is a terrible way to run athletic competitions,” Baker said, while also pushing Congress to pass the Protect College Sports Act, proposed federal legislation aimed at reforming college athletics.
Bauman, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end, amassed 18 receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown last season for the Miami. Prior to his time in Coral Gables, he played for three seasons at Tulane and had 63 career catches for 610 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The 6-2, 186-pound Earby earned All-Mountain West second-team honors at Boise State last fall. He started for two seasons for the Broncos after playing for two years at California.
Michigan is in unfamiliar territory in coach Kyle Whittingham’s first season. They are 3-2 overall, but 0-2 in the Big Ten Conference after a 20-14 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 3. The Wolverines host Penn State on Saturday.
Michigan has held roster spots open in the hopes that Bauman and Earby would be ruled eligible.