Though extra eligibility granted during the COVID-shortened 2020 season is slowly trickling away, players are still finding new — and inventive — ways to squeeze an extra year or two out of their collegiate careers. Sixth- and seventh-year seniors aren’t quite as prolific anymore, but there’s still a solid core holding down major roles at the highest level of football.
For instance, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is the poster child for an athlete’s battle against the NCAA for extra playing time. Pavia filed a lawsuit in November 2024 claiming the NCAA’s rule that counts a player’s time in junior college against his overall eligibility violates antitrust laws.
In another blow to the NCAA’s ability to enforce its own rules, Pavia was granted an injunction that allowed him, and other junior college products, to return for at least another year. So super-super seniors are here to stay, for now.
Here’s a look at some sixth-year college football players that could have a big impact on the 2025 college football season.
Beck eschewed the NFL Draft to enter the transfer portal and take his talents to Miami after two years as the starter at Georgia. He has some big shoes to fill stepping in for 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward. Beck did throw for 7,426 yards and 52 touchdowns from 2023-24 while guiding one of the SEC’s premier programs, but he also tied for the conference lead with 12 interceptions last year and saw his completion percentage tick down from 72% in 2023 to 65% in 2024. He’ll have to work on consistency and decision-making if he truly wants to improve his professional stock.
The former top-100 prospect in the Class of 2020 was granted an extra year of eligibility after he suffered a season-ending injury three games into the 2024 campaign. He still had 12 total tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack in that span. Botelho, who will start at “Viper,” a hybrid linebacker-defensive line position with a focus on getting after the quarterback, has a chance to emerge as one of the nation’s best pass rushers after logging 8.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss from 2022-23.
Miami will have plenty of experience on its offense in 2025. Daniels broke out at Liberty as a redshirt freshman in 2021 with 37 catches for 629 yards and seven touchdowns, but he missed most of the 2022 season while dealing with injury issues. He returned in force in 2023 by hauling in 55 passes for 1,067 yards and 11 touchdowns. He parlayed that success and became one of the top receivers in the 2024 transfer portal, where he signed with LSU. Though his lone year with the Tigers didn’t quite pan out — he only had 480 yards and went without a touchdown for the first time in his career — Daniels went for a fresh start by transferring to Miami.
Faison signed with Lackawanna Community College in 2020, transferred to Marshall in 2021 and then moved back down to the JUCO level at Snow College from 2021-22 before earning a scholarship from Utah State, where he stuck as a top option out of the backfield. He rushed for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Aggies before again entering the transfer portal and committing to South Carolina. There should be plenty of snaps available for Faison as the Gamecocks have to replace leading rusher Raheim Sanders.
Nikhai Hill-Green, LB, Alabama
Hill-Green began his career at Michigan in 2020, transferred to Charlotte where he earned third-team All-AAC honors in 2023, and then made his way to Colorado and coach Deion Sanders ahead of the 2024 season. Hill-Green had a career year with the Buffaloes and snagged second-team All-Big 12 honors after tallying 73 total tackles, 8.5 for a loss, two sacks, two interceptions and five pass deflections. He entered the portal once more ahead of his first year and filled a big roster hole for Alabama, which lost All-SEC linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
Height initially signed with Auburn in 2020 as a four-star prospect out of Georgia but couldn’t quite break through in his two years with the Tigers. So he transferred to USC in 2022 ,where he started two games before a shoulder injury cut his year short. Height was one of USC’s top defensive reserves in 2023 and had four sacks while rotating in at edge rusher. Desiring a bigger role, he transferred again and committed to Georgia Tech. He led the Yellow Jackets with 6.5 tackles for loss last season and tied for second with 2.5 sacks. Height also had an interception in his lone season at Georgia Tech — Height is a key member of Texas Tech’s vaunted 2025 transfer class — and his versatility as an edge rusher with the ability to cover in space is intriguing.
Though Kamara has transferred once, he has spent his entire career attached to Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who signed the talented pass rusher in 2020 when he was entering his second year at then-FCS James Madison. Kamara missed the entire 2021 season due to injury. His breakout year coincided with James Madison’s move to the FBS in 2022, as he logged 14 tackles and four sacks. Kamara followed Cignetti to Indiana ahead of the 2024 season and finished the year as a first-team All-Big Ten selection after finishing with 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.
King has battled through various injury issues to emerge as one of the ACC’s top starting quarterbacks, though there is a chance he splits time with Aaron Philo in 2025 after the two shared the field some last season. King is at his best when he can move the pocket and make plays outside of structure with his legs. He has 1,324 yards and 21 touchdowns rushing in his two years with the Yellow Jackets.
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt
A product of New Mexico Military Institute, Pavia played two seasons at New Mexico State, where he was named the 2023 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, prior to transferring to Vanderbilt. It didn’t take him long to make a major impact for the Commodores. Under Pavia’s guidance, Vanderbilt finished 2024 with a 7-6 record — its best showing since 2013 when James Franklin was patrolling the sidelines — and pulled off a major upset against No. 1 Alabama while playing competitive games against top SEC teams like Texas and LSU. Pavia provided a tremendous spark for Vanderbilt’s offense with his play-making ability, as evidenced by his 801 yards and eight touchdowns rushing and his ratio of 20 touchdowns passing to just four interceptions.
Armed with more eligibility and NIL, Diego Pavia’s value could go from nonexistent to full-fledged empire
Dennis Dodd
After signing with Wyoming in 2020, Pregnon opted out of his true freshman season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then redshirted in 2021. He broke into a starting role in 2022 and performed well enough to attract some transfer interest from some of the top programs in the nation. He eventually enrolled at USC and spent two seasons at offensive guard, earning 2024 second-team All-Big Ten honors. He initially committed to the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl, which indicated his interest in entering the NFL Draft process, but instead elected to transfer to Oregon for one more season.
Tré Williams, DL, Michigan
Williams, who ranked as the No. 73 prospect nationally in 2020, suffered through various ailments during his first few seasons at Clemson. A foot injury cut his true freshman campaign short, and he was hampered by that same issue and two shoulder impingements in 2021. In 2023, he took an injury redshirt while recovering from shoulder surgery. Finally, in 2024 — his fifth year in college — Williams was able to put together a (mostly) healthy senior season with 14 total tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks. Now he’ll have a chance to start at Michigan, which lost a pair of potential first-round NFL Draft picks along the defensive line in Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham.
