With Clemson's regular season beginning in earnest on Monday, Nov. 2, it is still up in the air whether veteran point guard Dillon Hunter can even suit up for the team. While he is in school and practicing, he is currently ineligible for a fifth season due to a stay in a Georgia appellate court. However, he and many other Georgia plaintiffs in the RJ Godfrey case are looking to file motions to withdraw from it.
On Wednesday, "Dillon Hunter elected to dismiss himself from Godfrey v. NCAA, the lawsuit which gave him eligibility before the NCAA appealed and was granted a stay on the ruling." He can now pursue other avenues for eligibility in a separate case.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said about Hunter's eligibility, "There's a lot of things we're looking at. I'm not getting into the lawyer stuff."
In layman's terms, Hunter dismissing himself from the Godfrey vs. NCAA case will afford him a chance to become eligible sooner. With the regular season starting for Clemson on Monday, the hope is that he could return to the court sooner than the Godfrey case would allow. It was announced on Tuesday that oral arguments for the Godfrey case would begin on Jan. 12, 2027, well into the season.
NEWS: Yesterday, Dillon Hunter elected to dismiss himself from Godfrey v. NCAA, the lawsuit which gave him eligibility before the NCAA appealed and was granted a stay on the ruling, according to court records.
— Jackson Castellano (@jaxacastellano) October 29, 2026
This opens up the door for him to pursue eligibility in a separate…
Dillon Hunter would be a massive boost to this Clemson backcourt
What could be happening is that Hunter may be joining the Darrion Williams lawsuit in Waco, TX, hoping that he can get an injunction and be ruled eligible right away. This is the lawsuit Godfrey has attached himself to since withdrawing from his own case. The former Clemson and Georgia big man is slated to spend his final year of college -- if he is ruled eligible -- playing for Tommy Lloyd's Arizona Wildcats.
Clearly, Hunter is going to try everything in his power to play for Clemson this season, within the parameters of the law. That is why he is still on campus and practicing with the team. Because Hunter is currently ineligible, he cannot play in any game for the Tigers. Exhibition, regular season, ACC play, postseason, it does not matter. With Clemson being depleted in the backcourt, the Tigers need him.
While Ace Buckner played well in Clemson's second of two preseason games against Presbyterian, the Tigers will still be without Zac Foster for the season. If Hunter is able to return, he both elevates Clemson's floor and ceiling in the backcourt. If Hunter is not allowed to play another second for the Tigers, Brownell will have to lean on Buckner, Harris Reynolds, and Cole Certa for the entire season.
Right now, it is abundantly clear that the Godfrey v. NCAA case was dragging its feet in Georgia. Oral arguments only beginning to be heard on Jan. 12 is ridiculous, especially with the regular season starting a full two months earlier. Whether or not Hunter links up with the many plaintiffs in the Williams lawsuit remains to be seen. As long as Hunter is granted an injunction, all will be good here.
With the regular season starting in only four days, it is unbelievable that this has dragged out as it has.
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