Former New Mexico kicker Luke Drzewiecki has signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where the Lobos’ former special teams coach, Daniel Da Prato, was hired to the same position this offseason.
It was first reported Friday morning by CBS Sports.
Drzewiecki’s signing comes amid an ongoing legal battle between the high school class of 2022 and the NCAA.
Back in June, the NCAA shifted its eligibility rules from the traditional four seasons of competition within a five-year window to an age-based model offering up five seasons in five years. The clock begins as of full-time college enrollment or the academic year after a student-athletes 19th birthday, whichever comes first.
The NCAA opted not to retroactively apply these new eligibility rules to members of the high school of 2022 who had already used four season by the end of the 2025-26 academic year, exhausting their eligibility under the previous rules. The NCAA argued that granting this class an extra year of eligibility — retroactively adding thousands of eligible players — could displace incoming freshmen and other rostered athletes.
Here is where it gets confusing.
There is a federal case, Wisne vs. NCAA, in which a federal judge in Colorado issued a preliminary injunction on July 31 temporarily requiring the NCAA to recognize eligible athletes who:
- Began competing in Division I during the 2022–23 academic year.
- Completed four seasons by the end of 2025–26.
- Were excluded from a fifth season only because of the NCAA’s new rule.
Drzewiecki qualifies, having played four seasons in four years with New Mexico.
The NCAA has since appealed that decision and, as of the morning of August 21, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit stayed the Colorado injunction while the appeal proceeds.
So is Drzewiecki still eligible? Here is where it gets even more confusing.
Yes, Drzewiecki is still eligible as of this writing because he was party to a state lawsuit filed in Louisiana. If a state judge has issued a temporary restraining or preliminary injunction for the athletes who sued, it is unaffected by the 10th Circuit’s stay, which only applies directly to the Wisne vs. NCAA case.
So Drzewiecki remains eligible, but depending on how his case proceeds, that could change.
Until then, he steps into a kicking competition at Minnesota that is currently being waged between Michigan transfer Beckham Sunderland and redshirt freshman Daniel Jackson.
In four seasons with the Lobos, Drzewiecki was 51-of-56 on field goal attempts (78.5%) and 120-of-122 on extra point attempts. He was 18-of-19 on field goal attempts (97.4%) as a senior last season.
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