Earlier this week, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer publicly expressed his frustration and disappointment with the NCAA. Specifically, Beamer is not happy with the NCAA’s lack of response regarding transfer portal addition Rahsul Faison. The former class of 2019 running back hasn’t been ruled eligible for the 2025 season despite the precedent of other players with junior college pasts receiving extra opportunities to play.
On Wednesday, Faison announced that he had hired premier NIL lawyer Darren Heitner to represent him in a potential challenge to the NCAA. Heitner confirmed Faison’s social media announcement with a post of his own. Said the attorney, “Rahsul Faison submitted his waiver request to the NCAA. I will be urging the NCAA to prioritize providing a decision on his request for an additional year of eligibility.”
It is worth noting that neither Faison nor Heitner indicated that they had yet filed any lawsuit against the NCAA.For those unfamiliar with Heitner, there is no one better on the legal side of the NIL world. He teaches NIL Law at the University of Miami’s law school and commonly represents athletes. He also writes a weekly NIL newsletter that reaches thousands.
Earlier this spring, Heitner represented South Carolina basketball wing Myles Stute as he sought another year on the court following a blood clot diagnosis that caused him to miss more than half of the 2024-2025 campaign. The NCAA folded and (rightfully) granted Stute a final season.
In Faison’s case, the facts support him receiving another year to play. He grayshirted at Marshall in 2019 before sitting out of football in both 2020 and 2021. Then, he played one year of junior college ball in 2022 before getting carries for two seasons at Utah State. In total, he’s played just three years beyond high school, and one of them was in junior college.
