Jack Pyburn return to LSU becoming more likely
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Like it or not, the saga regarding players coming back to college from the NFL appears to be far from over. Court dates upon court dates. Temporary restraining orders. We’re 8 days away from kickoff on September 5th and the topic of conversation seems to be anything but actual football.
On Thursday evening, more fuel was added to the fire. Jon Blau of The Advocate reported that former Tiger Jack Pyburn plans to head back to Baton Rouge if he’s cut by the Buccaneers.
Pyburn would join tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris as players who have been signed by NFL teams at some point and are looking to return to college. Wright was picked up by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent, then to the Browns and Harris signed with the Saints following the draft, but never participated due to a foot injury.
Former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka has also announced his intention to return to college and transfer to LSU, but he was never signed to a professional roster.
All 4 of those players were part of the 16 person group that was granted a temporary restraining order by a Louisiana state court a little over a week ago.
On Tuesday, the SEC announced an official ban for former professional athletes to return to college sports, which has further muddied an already muddy situation. The following day, another vote was held regarding potential penalties. Although Tuesday’s vote was 16-0 by SEC presidents, the Wednesday vote was 15-0 with LSU abstaining.
The harsh penalties announced included:
- 50% fine of that year’s operating budget for the sport that violates the rule
- Head coach suspended for 50% of the season
- School’s loss of voting privleges on conference business matters
- Additional penalties that Commissioner Greg Sankey and other presidents deem appropriate
Speaking of Sankey, he was added as a defendant to the original Louisiana lawsuit that’s attempting to create a 5th year of eligibility for players like Pyburn, Wright, Harris, and Tuihalamaka. The hearing for a temporary injunction against the SEC and NCAA was planned for Monday, August 31st, but it’s now possible that it gets pushed back to allow Sankey to appear in court.
It’s hard to say exactly how all of this will play out, but what’s clear is that it’s far from over.
As for Pyburn, he would immediately bolster the depth of defensive end room. As discussed with the Tuihalamaka addition, LSU only has 5 players at the position with playing experience. There’s 9 defensive ends listed on the roster, but only 7 of them are currently active with Gabe Reliford recovering from a torn ACL and Damien Shanklin not currently with the team.
In his one season with the Tigers, Pyburn had 52 tackles. He added 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, playing in all 12 of the regular season games.
He spent his first 3 seasons with Florida and totaled 80 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, and just 1.0 sack.
The addition of Pyburn would be a massive boost to the rotation and run defense. Although he recorded 2.0 sacks in his first preseason game in Tampa Bay, he only has 3.0 total in his collegiate career.
His transition back to LSU would likely be smooth considering he was there in 2025, unlike the other three players that are transferring in. Blake Baker is still the defensive coordinator, so that familiarity is important.
With more news certainly to come, stay locked in with ATVS for the latest.
Let us know in the comments below if you believe these players should be allowed to play. Do you think they should as class of 2022 players that were left out of the 5-for-5 ruling by the NCAA or do you believe that they should not be allowed that benefit of the doubt because they signed NFL contracts?
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