Eric Morris on Pros Returning to School: 'What Are We Doing Right Now?'
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Eric Morris has his hands full with the 100-plus players he has at Oklahoma State football camp. It doesn't sound like he has time for distractions.
A big one is floating around college football – pro football players trying to return to school through the transfer portal and lawsuits. Notably, LSU is taking in tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who cleared waivers with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday and will reportedly join LSU for a fifth season of college football, thanks to the chaos created by lawsuits around the Class of 2022 players suing over the NCAA's new eligibility-based model, per the Associated Press.
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles after he was not drafted in April. He was released by them on Aug. 11 and signed with Cleveland before he was waived this week. That means he's signed two contracts with NFL teams before trying to go back to college to play for LSU coach Lane Kiffin, who was his coach at Ole Miss the past two seasons.
The Big Ten Conference passed a rule on Tuesday barring pro players from returning. The SEC may do the same. It's unclear if that will bar Wright from returning. But Morris made it clear he has no time for this.
Eric Morris on Pros Returning College
Morris was asked about what's happening and was clear in his opposition to it when he spoke to reporters during his Tuesday media availability.
"Like, what are we doing right now?" he said. "It's just one more thing we're putting on the list, and quite frankly, we don't have time to deal with and figure out what the rules are and what's going on. I think there's got to be some integrity in this game. It has been forever, in sports in general, and we've taught this from youth sports up. If a guy's competing for a professional job right now in his sport, he should have left college in in the back mirror at that point."
Three Oklahoma State student-athletes are currently eligible based on county court injunctions, including one of Morris' players, defensive lineman Iman Oates. The difference is that Oates never turned pro after last season ended.
There are other players like Oates who are eligible on injunctions or temporary restraining orders while their cases are heard in court. But Wright is among a handful of players that signed pro training camp contracts and are now trying to return because they were part of the Class of 2022 that did not get a fifth year under the NCAA's new age-based eligibility standard.
If Morris has his way, Wright won't be allowed to return. But that's up to the SEC – and likely a judge if the SEC opts to intervene. There is no Big 12 rule barring it, but the league is also considering a new rule, too.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Eric Morris on Pros Returning to School: 'What Are We Doing Right Now?'.
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