As South Carolina RB Rahsul Faison waits on NCAA, NFL decision looms

Rahsul Faison just keeps waiting. When the Utah State transfer committed to South Carolina in January, the Gamecocks knew from the jump they needed to secure an NCAA eligibility waiver for Faison to get on the field this fall.

But nearly six months since he committed to South Carolina and submitted a waiver, Faison is still waiting for an answer from the NCAA.

“It’s frustrating, but I’ve just been focused on football more than the waiver,” he told On3 earlier this week on a FaceTime call. “Obviously, I’m hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. I’ve just been grinding. Staying locked in. That’s all I really can do.”

Faison has patiently waited. He brought on NIL attorney Darren Heitner to help with the waiver for eligibility in early May. Faison’s camp has held off on filing a lawsuit to this point. The Utah State transfer graduated from high school in 2019 and enrolled at Marshall, but never played a snap for the Thundering Herd and later left the program. He enrolled in online classes at Lackawanna College in 2020, but did not play football.

And when he enrolled at Snow College in 2021, he didn’t get on the field until 2022 and transferred to Utah State for the 2023 season. His push for an extra year of eligibility comes following Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s courtroom win against the NCAA. Pavia initially filed a lawsuit last November against the NCAA, arguing that because the governing body counts junior college seasons towards NCAA eligibility and athletes cannot redshirt after they have played four years, NCAA rules violate antitrust law.

Pavia’s motion for a preliminary injunction was granted in the U.S. District Court of Middle Tennessee in December. The NCAA released guidance in March to its membership, issuing a blanket waiver to former junior college players. Faison has exhausted his five-year eligibility clock, despite only playing three seasons after high school. Heitner told On3 that Faison is “seeking a modification to the start of his five-year period of eligibility.”

Faison has been in the building nearly every day since arriving in Columbia this winter, training like he will be available for the 2025 season.

“I’m in the building every day, working out, grinding and sitting in meetings,” he said. “Treating it like I’m going to play this season.”

Faison rushed for 1,109 yards on 5.6 yards per attempt with eight touchdowns at Utah State in 2024. He also caught 22 passes for 99 yards. Faison emerged in the portal as an ideal candidate for South Carolina to take over for Rocket Sanders.

But with no indication on how the NCAA will rule, South Carolina has taken precautionary steps, recently picking up Colorado transfer running back Isaiah Augustave. South Carolina has four other scholarship running backs: Bradley Dunn, Jawarn Howell, Matthew Fuller and Oscar Adaway III.

“It makes me nervous, just because I’ve worked so hard to get to where I’m at today,” Faison said of the unknown. “If I get the waiver, it’s a life-changing opportunity. I’m not even talking financially, I’m just talking about me being able to play this season, which could change everything. It’s definitely stressful, especially coming from my background, I have a lot of my family members depending on me.”

Faison has taken contingency measures. The running back told On3 that he is also prepared to leave South Carolina and join a 90-man roster NFL training camp roster if necessary by entering his name in the NFL supplemental draft or becoming a UDFA by default. 

The supplemental draft, when it is held, is for players who were not eligible when the traditional April draft was held. It runs for seven rounds, and any team making a selection forfeits its pick from the corresponding round in the next year’s draft. The last player selected in the supplemental draft was Jalen Thompson by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round in 2019.

Sources have told On3 that Faison clocked a 4.4-second 40-yard dash this spring. He is currently viewed as a mid-round pick for the 2026 NFL draft, sources told On3. The running back held multiple collegiate all-star game invites before deciding to test the portal. If he cannot enter the supplemental draft, he will hold a private workout for NFL organizations. 

“I’m just training if I have to be on an NFL roster in a month, then I’m going to be ready,” Faison said. “If I’m playing college football, I’ll be ready. Just trying to stay in shape.”

South Carolina and Faison’s camp have repeatedly been told the NCAA is still gathering as much information as necessary to make a decision. The NCAA declined On3’s request for comment on the situation.

In an ideal world, Faison would get the green light from the NCAA and play for South Carolina this fall while boosting his NFL draft stock. He’s only actually played at the FBS level for two seasons. He told On3 that “everyone has been supportive and they 100% have my back” at South Carolina.

But Rahsul Faison is prepared to move on with his career and join an NFL training camp roster if necessary.

“It’s getting frustrating,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said in May. “The fact that [the NCAA has] had everything that they needed from us since January and we don’t have an answer is frankly disappointing. … We’ve given them everything they needed back in January. They asked for more. We gave them what they needed. They asked for more. We gave them what they needed. We’ve been in contact with other schools that he was to get stuff from them that [the NCAA] needed.”