The 2026 college football season is underway, and the Oklahoma Sooners will kick things off at home on Friday night against the UTEP Miners. OU's roster has been mostly set since the transfer portal madness died down in January, but the madness of eligibility lawsuits in college football has given the Sooners the opportunity to make some very last-minute additions to their roster.
According to multiple reports, former Boise State defensive lineman Braxton Fely has been granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA. That TRO allows him to enter the transfer portal and play this season.
Fely was invited to an NFL minicamp, but he never signed an NFL contract. He plans to transfer to and play for Oklahoma in 2026. Fely spent four seasons
with the Broncos. He was listed at 6-foot-1 and 296 pounds last season, and he was a starter at defensive tackle for Boise State. Fely was a second-team all-conference player for each of the last two years, and was a starter for three straight years.
NEW: Former Boise State DL Braxton Fely has been granted a TRO for a fifth season of eligibility and ability to enter the transfer portal, @PeteNakos reports.
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) September 3, 2026
Fely plans to play at Oklahoma this season, according to court documents.https://t.co/xDFPEOleJV pic.twitter.com/bfQqDSSTcv
Of course, Fely's status still depends on a preliminary injunction hearing, a process college football fans have become all too familiar with this offseason. The same goes for defensive lineman and incoming Arkansas transfer Danny Saili, who had an update in his case on Thursday as well. Saili committed to OU out of the transfer portal in August, having never pursued the NFL.
According to multiple reports, Saili was also granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday in a separate ruling from Fely's case. His situation is also pending a preliminary injunction hearing. However, Saili now appears on OU's official roster, and head coach Brent Venables stated that he is on the team and practicing. Saili has been allowed to go through team activities, but not play, at least until he was ruled eligible to play.
According to On3 SoonerScoop.com's George Stoia III, the Sooners expect both Saili and Fely to be on the roster this year. Stoia also reported that the Sooners did not have to cut anyone on the roster to make this all happen. Clearly, Oklahoma wants to add more defensive tackle depth, and while both cases are far from over, it sure sounds like OU believes that both players will eventually be available to play and that both players will be able to help them in some way.
Oklahoma's core group at defensive tackle consists of starters Jayden Jackson and David Stone, along with backups Bishop Thomas, Trent Wilson, Nigel Smith II, and James Carrington. However, if Saili and Fely both get ruled fully eligible to play this year, and if both do in fact suit up for the Sooners, Venables and general manager Jim Nagy will have significantly bolstered their defensive tackle depth for this season.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma poised to make roster additions on eve of season opener
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