Lane Kiffin says he and LSU are in wait-and-see mode about potentially adding former NFL players to 2026 roster

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As the SEC is set to attempt to immediately enforce its ban on players who have signed NFL contracts returning to college to play for schools in the conference, LSU coach Lane Kiffin said that he and his coaching staff are simply playing the waiting game.

Thursday, the SEC is set to argue against a possible preliminary injunction favoring players who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in a Louisiana federal court. Those plaintiffs were granted a temporary restraining order allowing them to play college sports in 2026, and many of those players had been on NFL rosters this summer.

The group included former LSU defensive end Jack Pyburn, former Ole Miss TE Dae'Quan Wright and ex-Rebels DT Zxavian Harris. Pyburn, who was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the weekend, was picked up on waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs and is set to stay in the NFL. Wright and Harris have committed to play for Kiffin at LSU after playing for him at Ole Miss in 2025.

Assuming they're eligible, of course.

"We don't put any energy into it," Kiffin said Wednesday about Thursday's hearing, which will take place in Baton Rouge, just a few miles from the LSU campus. "We're not in it. So this is a lot of athletes from a lot of different sports from a lot of different states in the hearing tomorrow. So we don't put any energy into it. We're waiting to get more information tomorrow, more guidance from the SEC."

After the TRO was granted for the players, the SEC moved to ban players who had signed NFL, NBA or WNBA contracts from playing for a member school. Other power conferences now have similar rules.

However, the rule doesn't currently apply to the players in the suit because of the TRO. If the players get a preliminary injunction, they can play college sports. If the SEC is successful and the injunction is stayed, the conference can ban schools from signing players who were in the lawsuit.

Both Kiffin and the SEC have also said they will follow court orders based on the outcome of Thursday's hearing. And that hearing will directly affect how LSU — and maybe even other teams in the conference — builds its roster for 2026. The Tigers' official roster has to be finalized on Friday.

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