Zach Durfee is listed as a senior on the University of Washington's most recent football roster, but in the ever-changing world of college football, that's never been the case for the 6-foot-5, 255-pound edge rusher from Minnesota.
The Department of Justice said Thursday that as part of settlement talks in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, players who were forced to miss a season because of a transfer and are still active in the league will have that year of eligibility reinstated.
That works to Durfee's advantage, as Durfee was forced to miss 13 of the Huskies' 15 games last season before transferring from Division II Sioux Falls to attend the University of Washington for a year. After becoming eligible in late December, he played briefly for the Huskies in the Sugar Bowl against Texas on New Year's Day in New Orleans.
Durfee, expected to be a star player next season and potentially a star player, realized during the recently concluded spring football practice that his college football career isn't over yet — in fact, he estimated he could play two more seasons.
“There's a chance I could go back to last year and play another year, maybe another year because of COVID-19,” he said after a practice in April.
Durfee was immediately barred from playing in UW games because the NCAA deemed him a dual transfer, and the university appealed the decision, but the transfer was denied.
BREAKING: The NCAA will grant an extra year of eligibility to D1 student-athletes who are deemed ineligible to compete for any portion of a season during the 2019-20 academic year or beyond.#TP4PT #TransferPortal pic.twitter.com/BNpKA3Ojti
— Playtime Transfer Portal (@TP4PT) May 30, 2024
The defensive star had a brief stint at North Dakota State during the COVID-19 pandemic but did not play football, then transferred to the University of Sioux Falls, where he redshirted in 2021 and appeared in 11 games the following season.
As it stands, Durfee, who is recovering from an elbow injury sustained during spring practice, will play this season for UW and could appear in up to two games after that.
But if he is as good as the Huskies' coaching staff, past and present, suggests, all of this could become moot as Durfee will play just one full season at the University of Washington before entering the NFL Draft next April.
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