John Lomax III of Bloomfield had faced a murder charge, but on Friday entered his plea to the lesser charge in Superior Court.
He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing.
Authorities say the 22-year-old Lomax stabbed Jasper Howard, a defensive back, in the abdomen during a dispute outside a dance on campus on Oct. 18, 2009 that investigators think started over a comment one player made about a woman.
Lomax's trial was supposed to start this month.
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