UCF linebacker announces return after eligibility fight

At long last, Cole Kozlowski will rejoin the UCF football team.

The fifth-year linebacker announced in a social media post on Oct. 4 that he has officially received extra eligibility.

"Everything happens for a reason!" Kozlowski wrote on X. "After recent ruling, I have now been granted eligibility for the rest of the 2026-27 football season. Unbelievably blessed for the opportunity to strap up the helmet and play the game I've loved since I was 5 years old."

Kozlowski enrolled in classes in August and has remained around the team following a July 31 injunction in the U.S. District Court of Colorado that gave an extra season to all Class of 2022 high school graduates.

However, an Aug. 21 ruling in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals put that on hold. Kozlowski sat in limbo.

He thanked McCarter & English law firm in his post.

Kozlowski spent the first three seasons of his college career at Colgate. He transferred to UCF before the 2025 campaign and started nine of the Knights ' 12 games. He ranked second on the squad with 82 tackles while also contributing two sacks and forcing a fumble.

"He just kept getting better and better and better and better," UCF linebackers coach Mark D'Onofrio told the News-Journal in August. "He's got a really good knack for the football. He really loves Saturdays."