When Nate Rembert called his mom, Laura, to tell her he’d been granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, she broke down in tears.
“The first thing I said was, ‘Thank you, Jesus. God is good.’ And I cried,” she told the Clarion Ledger.
The Jackson State sixth-year wide receiver’s injunction was granted on Aug. 19, making him eligible for the 2026 season. In three games, he has nine receptions for 235 yards and a touchdown.
Rembert and the Tigers (3-0) open SWAC play at home against Southern (2-2) on Sept. 26 (6 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
“He’s special,” JSU coach T.C. Taylor said. “… For him to get that weight off his shoulders as far as the NCAA stuff, now you’re seeing him playing just carefree.”
Why Nate Rembert sued the NCAA
Rembert graduated high school in 2021 and enrolled at Florida State College at Jacksonville, where he planned to play basketball before the team was disbanded. FSCJ didn’t have a football team. In 2022 he played football at Jacksonville Athletic Academy, a prep school, while attending FSCJ and was recruited to Edward Waters for 2023.
The NCAA argued Rembert’s two years at FSCJ counted against his eligibility because he chose to stay at a school without football. Rembert stated he stayed at FSCJ because of circumstances out of his control, referencing financial hardship that almost led to the foreclosure of his family’s home.
“I’ve always told him, I don’t want you to not chase what you want for me, but I think at that time in our lives, and just our lives in general, he was the man of the house,” his mom said. “… Even though I didn’t raise him like the man in the house, you’ve got to take care of us … he felt like it was his thing to do.”
Rembert filed the lawsuit on April 8, and the case dragged on for months after he received a temporary restraining order on April 23.
Nate Rembert had breakout season in 2024
Rembert, from Eustis, Florida, only played high school football his freshman and senior years. He finished his senior year with 1,670 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns.
Basketball was Rembert’s main sport, but Vincent Brown, his senior-year coach at Wildwood Middle High School, always reminded him that football was an option.
“The kid had it from when I first met him,” Brown said. “… Just to watch him grow his senior year, and the player he became through us, I’m not surprised at all.”
Rembert flew under the radar when Edward Waters recruited him and again when Mississippi Valley State did the following year.
His 730 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2023 at Edward Waters didn’t draw much attention. However, his 1,038 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2024 at MVSU uncovered him as a hidden gem.
“I didn’t think he would come in and have 1,000 in Year 1 because I just didn’t know if he would get the ball enough,” former MVSU coach Kendrick Wade said. “… But after the Tennessee State game, in the fourth quarter, he caught like a 60-yard pass over three dudes. I looked at (offensive coordinator) Eli (Johnson). I said, ‘We’re going to find a way to get this kid the ball every weekend.’”
After Wade was not retained following the season, Rembert asked for his advice on where he should transfer. Despite knowing that bigger schools, including FBS programs, were interested, Wade encouraged Rembert to consider JSU.
In 2025, Rembert caught 45 passes and led the Tigers with 750 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. He made the All-SWAC second team.
Is Nate Rembert an NFL prospect?
This season, NFL scouts have flocked to JSU practices. Rembert is one of the main attractions despite his 5-8, 165-pound frame.
“Small in stature, but … he played big,” said Tyrell Conyers, Rembert’s position coach at EWU. “He was so explosive. The things that he did, go up and get the ball at its highest point. In and out of breaks, his change of direction was amazing.”
Johnson said MVSU got more value out of Rembert than expected because of his positional versatility. Wade called him “shifty,” noting his “huge catch radius” allows him to play like he’s 6-5, something Taylor agrees with.
Johnson compared Rembert to former Ole Miss skill player Dexter McCluster, who was also 5-8 and a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
“Nate kind of had a little bit of Dexter McCluster in him, in the sense of when you put the ball in his hands, he was able to change direction without losing speed down the field,” Johnson said. “Just very agile, very elusive, hard to get a hold of and bring down.”
Rembert hopes to be the first JSU player drafted since Isaiah Bolden in 2023 and first offensive player since receiver Jaymar Johnson in 2008.
“There’s no ceiling,” Wade said. “He can be as great as he wants to be. There’s no defender that you can put out there to stop him. … Only Nate can get in his own way. Nobody else can stop Nate from doing whatever he wants to do when it comes to football.”
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.
