Two Nebraska football players have made new decisions on their futures.

Thanks to the NCAA’s blanket waiver for athletes who attended non-NCAA schools and would have otherwise seen their eligibility end in 2024-25, both DeShon Singleton and Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda can continue their careers.

Safety Singleton will be returning to NU for a fifth year of collegiate football.

After mainly playing on special teams in 2022, Singleton started at safety in the first five games of 2023 before a season-ending injury. In 2024, Singleton started all 13 games. He recorded a career-high 71 tackles, ranking second on the team.

Prior to playing in Lincoln, Singleton played a season at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. He helped the Blue Dragons to a 9-2 record, a top-10 ranking, and a victory in the Salt City Bowl. During that year, Singleton recorded 21 tackles on the season with 2.5 tackles for loss, a pair of interceptions and two pass breakups.

Wide receiver Garcia-Castaneda, on the other hand, will look to finish his collegiate career elsewhere. He announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on social media Friday.

“I want to thank the University of Nebraska and coaches for everything during my time here,” Garcia-Cataneda said. “I gave my all to the program and I’m extremely proud to have been a Husker and now an Alum. I am officially in the transfer portal as a Grad Transfer with 1 yr of eligibility! GBR forever❤️”

IGC spent three seasons in Lincoln. He played in four games in 2022 while utilizing a redshirt. He then suffered a season-ending in jury in the 2023 opener at Minnesota.

This past season, Garcia-Castaneda played in all 13 games. Mainly used in the return game, he led Nebraska with 11 punt returns for 60 yards.

Prior to Nebraska, IGC played two seasons at New Mexico State and one at Saddleback College in California. Over two seasons with New Mexico State, he played in 12 games, catching 42 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns. At Saddleback, 56 passes for 953 yards and 13 touchdowns.

While both players attended junior colleges, the waiver includes NAIA schools too. That’s why quarterback Jalyn Gramstad can return for next season as well.

Last month, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. Pavia had sued the NCAA over its eligibility standards, arguing the rule of counting junior college years against a player’s NCAA eligibility violates antitrust laws by restricting an athlete’s ability to profit from their name, image, and likeness.

For the time being, the ruling only applies to an extra season in 2025-26. Should the rule ultimately be changed and all non-NCAA years not count, Nebraska has multiple underclassmen who could benefit with additional years of eligibility.

Other Husker Sports

This ruling is not specific to football. Other Nebraska sports could benefit from bringing players back who attended junior college or an NAIA school before getting to Lincoln.

Husker baseball has five seniors who could come back next year with this ruling. If the rule gets adopted completely going forward, NU has a dozen players who could play additional seasons.

Other Nebraska programs that have a rostered player who previously played at a non-NCAA institution include men’s basketball, men’s golf, soccer, swimming and diving, women’s tennis, and wrestling.

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