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Rarely do football programs make major roster changes when the season begins, but N.C. State lost and added players in the secondary this week.
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Wolfpack cornerback Jamel Johnson can play after Judge Kara E. Krothe ordered a preliminary injunction in a Monroe, Indiana, case where 97 athletes sought a fifth year of eligibility. Krothe ruled the plaintiffs are eligible while the case awaits trial.
“Justice delayed is justice denied applies to this case, many of the Plaintiffs in this case are involved in sports that are already under way,” the ruling read. “They cannot wait until a trial on the merits; the harm will be irreparable from this lost season.”
Johnson showed N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren the documentation on Wednesday, Doeren told the media Thursday.
“We sent that over to compliance, and now they’re going through all their paperwork and dotting every ‘I,’” Doeren said. “Excited for him and us. It’s nice to have an experienced player like that you can use on game day. Whether he’s out there on defense or on special teams, he’s a good football player.”
Johnson could appear as soon as Saturday when the Wolfpack hosts Appalachian State.
N.C. State re-added Johnson to the roster when the “5-for-5” ruling was implemented, hoping he would be allowed to play. He was originally ruled ineligible, because the rule did not apply to the high school Class of 2022, despite falling within the age requirements.
Colorado judge Charlotte Sweeney issued a preliminary injunction in the Wisne v. NCAA case on July 31, stating that all players in the Class of 2022 should be ruled eligible for the season. This made room for all players, including Johnson, to play.
Then, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals approved on Aug. 21 the NCAA’s request for a stay. This meant Sweeney’s ruling was temporarily reversed while litigation was ongoing and the “5-for-5” rule would be enforced as initially expected. It provided an exception for players involved in separate lawsuits. If they received injunctive relief through their individual cases, they would be eligible to play.
N.C. State men’s basketball forward Ven-Allen Lubin was one such example of a plaintiff in a Texas and North Carolina lawsuit. His eligibility was recently confirmed when a judge issued an injunction in the Texas case.
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Johnson, however, was not originally a plaintiff in a separate case and was only covered by the Wisne case. The fifth-year forward was allowed to practice with the team.
“We planned on not having Jamel,” Doeren said when the stay was originally granted. “It’s not like, ‘Oh my God, what are we gonna do?’ We knew when we added him that it wasn’t done, so we’ve planned for ‘life with’ and ‘life without.’ I still don’t know where we’re at. I just found out the same time you guys did. I haven’t talked to our compliance office yet. I have to find that out, what this does to us and if this is final or is there another thing coming? I don’t know the answers yet.”
The safety, however, joined the Indiana lawsuit in hopes of playing this season. Several North Carolina football and field hockey players caught a break in the ruling as well.
Johnson contributed 27 tackles and five pass deflections in 10 games last season, missing the final three contests.
The order, however, does not guarantee Johnson’s availability for the entire season. If the NCAA is granted a stay in this case, that would send Johnson — and his fellow plaintiffs — back to the bench.
Johnson’s eligibility comes at a good time. The Wolfpack removed nickelback Asaad Brown from the roster on Wednesday. It’s unclear why Brown is not with the team, and athletic department staff cannot comment on the matter.
Brown played 22 snaps in the season opener against Virginia and recorded three tackles, but he missed the Richmond and Vanderbilt games with an undisclosed injury, according to the program.
In total, he appeared in 17 games and made 10 starts. In 2025, Brown was third on the team in total tackles (64), second in solo tackles (39) and added two pass breakups and one interception.
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