Safety [Kobe Savage](https://www.oregonlive.com/topic/kobe-savage/) was preparing to return to Oregon next season, but ambiguity about whether he would receive an additional year of eligibility as a former junior college player led him to remain in the NFL draft.
Following a court injunction won by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, the NCAA granted a waiver allowing former junior college players whose eligibility was exhausted in 2024-25 to play in 2025-26. But there is uncertainty about how that would apply to Savage, who played two seasons at Tyler Junior College and later at Kansas State. He announced he was [remaining in the 2025 NFL draft](https://x.com/KobeSavage/status/1884069778568179713) on Jan. 27, hours after finding out he may not be able to return to college.
“My intentions were to come back to use that JUCO year,” Savage said after Oregon’s pro day. “But there was some scenario setup that wouldn’t allow me. I was in there working out with the team then all of a sudden my best friend calls compliance to see if I can get my year back or not and they said ‘Yeah, it’s not looking too good. You should just go ahead and declare.’ Within the span of like four hours I found agents, found a place to train and packed everything I got and went to Cali to train.”