Lane Kiffin consulted LSU players, leaders in 'struggle' to add NFL players
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Lane Kiffin "struggled" with his thought process of whether he'd add a player from an NFL roster seeking a fifth year of eligibility and return to college football.
That was, until he spoke with his team's leadership committee.
"Every one of them was emphatic that if they can help us win, bring them," the LSU football coach said during a news conference on Monday, Aug. 31. "We understand we have a team that's practiced together and worked together all off season, but one of them said, 'Hey, this is how it works at the next level and this is how the real world works.'
"… So that made me feel a little better in the struggle and being torn back and forth."
Lane Kiffin says he was torn whether to bring in ex-NFL players to his team or not.
He says he met with the team’s leadership council and that “emphatically” said if they can help them win, bring them in.#LSUpic.twitter.com/lx3T5MEcI9
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) August 31, 2026
LSU is reportedly expected to have two former NFL players — both of whom played for now-LSU coach Lane Kiffin at Mississippi last season — join its roster ahead of Week 1's opener against Clemson. The first is former Mississippi tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who officially has been waived by the Cleveland Browns. The second is former Rebels defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, who had been waived by the New Orleans Saints after signing as an undrafted free agent.
Former LSU linebacker Jack Pyburn was expected to rejoin the Tigers as well, but instead was claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs off waivers on Aug. 31.
The Tigers have not officially added Wright or Harris to their official 105-man roster at the time of this publication, and have until Sept. 4 to do so. Kiffin mentioned that Wright and former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka, who also recently joined the Tigers, have been practicing with the rest of the team.
Twenty-four hours after the Big Ten adopted its own conference policy, the SEC followed suit on Aug. 25, approving a measure that prohibits athletes who have signed professional contracts and competed professionally from returning to play college football or men's and women's basketball at an SEC member institution.
According to two people with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke to USA TODAY Sports, LSU leadership declined to vote when SEC presidents and chancellors formally ratified the policy.
On Aug. 26, the SEC settled on severe punishments for any member schools that sign a former professional player to its roster going forward, including a 50% season suspension for head coaches, 50% of that sport's annual operating budget and SEC voting privileges revoked on some matters.
A Dallas judge on Aug. 27 included the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey in a court order barring the conference from penalizing schools that add players from professional rosters. In a statement released Sunday, Aug. 30, the SEC said it and Sankey are prepared to challenge the plaintiffs' claims at Thursday's hearing and defend the conference's right, as a voluntary association, to set and enforce policies on behalf of its member institutions.
LSU is set to host "College GameDay" on Saturday ahead of its 7:30 p.m. ET season kickoff against No. 23 Clemson at Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5 in Baton Rouge.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lane Kiffin consulted LSU players, leaders in 'struggle' to add NFL players
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