USC Trojans' DJ Wingfield Receives Disappointing Update In NCAA Eligibility Dispute

A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied Wingfield's suit for another year eligibility on Monday night. UCLA wide receiver Kaiden Robinson's attempts were also denied.

This is just the latest eligibility ruling to take place as Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia recently was successful in a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which granted him a fifth season with the Commodores.

Both Robinson and Wingfield challenged the NCAA’s Five-Year Rule, which contends that players are eligible to play four seasons of competition across five seasons. 

Robinson and Wingfield entered the season expected to make money playing for USC and UCLA. Wingfield was set to make reportedly $210,000 to play this season with the Trojans.

Wingfield Unlikely to Play This Season

With Monday’s decision finalized, Wingfield and Robinson are unlikely to play for their respective schools this season, which is a major blow to both crosstown rivals in UCLA and USC.

Wingfield entered USC this season primed to be a valuable addition to the Trojans' offensive line. Entering this season, the offensive line has been one of the main focuses of improvement for USC as the Trojans try to protect starting quarterback Jayden Maiava. 

Wingfield's College Career

Wingfield's college career spans multiple schools, starting with El Camino Junior College, where he appeared in 22 games. The 6-foot-4 offensive lineman then transferred to New Mexico for his junior season. After suffering a season-ending injury, Wingfield redshirted, playing nine games as a redshirt junior before transferring to Purdue in December of 2023.

In the 2024 season with the Boilermakers, Wingfield started 12 games at the right guard position on Purdue’s offensive line. He finished the year with a 64.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade, including a 65.2 run-blocking grade and a 61.5 pass-block grade. 

Wingfield allowed 22 pressures, including five hits on the quarterback and three sacks. This season, he was expected to be a key piece to the Trojans' offensive line, which lost Emmanuel Pregnon and Mason Murphy to the transfer portal in the offseason.

USC's Offensive Line Entering the Season

USC’s starting offensive line has been a competition throughout fall camp, with many positions up for grabs. As of now, the only established starter is Elijah Paige, who is set to return at the starting left guard position for USC.

That leaves four open spots on the Trojans' offensive line to be filled, and Wingfield would’ve likely taken one of those spots.