Lane Kiffin met with LSU’s player leadership before adding returning pro players, he said

LSU coach Lane Kiffin said Monday he “struggled” over whether to pursue players recently cut from NFL camps so close to the start of LSU’s season, but was convinced after putting the question to his team’s leadership council, a group of veteran players.

“And every one of them is emphatic about, they can help us win, bring them,” Kiffin said. “We have a team that’s practiced together, worked together all offseason. But let me say, this is how it works at the next level, and this is how the real world works. They can bring employees into certain jobs to help the company. So, that made me feel a little better in the struggle and being torn back and forth.”

LSU is the epicenter of the struggle between former pro players seeking court relief to return to college and the SEC, which last week issued strict penalties against teams putting such players on their roster. The decision now looms later this week, with LSU set to host Clemson on Saturday. LSU must set its 105-man roster by Friday.

Former Ole Miss tight end DaeQuan Wright, just waived by the Cleveland Browns, has begun practicing with LSU, which is not a violation of SEC rules. But whether it’s within the rules to have him on Friday’s roster depends on a court hearing Thursday in Baton Rouge, La.

Wright and 30-plus athletes, including several football players, argue they should be allowed another year in college, despite turning pro, because the NCAA passed a rule in June allowing five years of eligibility over five seasons. The NCAA did not include members of the 2022 class, such as Wright, who played for Kiffin at Ole Miss.

A Louisiana judge issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA earlier this month, and added the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey to the TRO on Friday. On Thursday, the court will hear arguments on whether it becomes a preliminary injunction in favor of the players or whether the injunction is stayed.

Kiffin said Monday he would “wait to hear for more guidance,” and has been in communication with the SEC office.

“I probably am in the minority of how I make decisions and probably not what most coaches do,” Kiffin said. “I feel like my decision should always be made in the best interest of the players that sit in this team, and not for my reputation and how the decisions play in the national media or other fan bases. I’ve never been that way, and that could be wrong. It’s probably part of my story why it is the way it is, but those players and the people that hire me always know he’s constantly trying to do the best thing for them. So I struggled with it a lot.”

This is twice in the past week Kiffin has made clear he wants to suit up Wright, as well as other players he is recruiting. They included outside linebacker Jack Pyburn, who was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. Defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, who had been with the New Orleans Saints, is also on LSU’s radar but has evidently not begun practicing.

The case is unique to the 2022 class, and not set to be an issue in the future, Kiffin pointed out last week. But all four major conferences reacted to the situation last week by declaring that their schools should not sign players who signed with pro leagues, and adopted penalties against teams that do so.

The SEC said in a statement Sunday evening that it would “defend the SEC’s rights as a voluntary association” in Thursday’s hearing. The conference also said that once a ruling is made it will “carefully review the court’s decision and determine the appropriate next steps.”

Wright and other players in the Louisiana case, and in separate state cases, are currently eligible because of temporary restraining orders. The Thursday hearing is set to decide if they get a preliminary injunction prior to the case going to trial, which effectively would make the players eligible to play this season.

However, the SEC has added penalties — including a fine, suspension for the coach and revoking of some league voting privileges — as a deterrent to signing the players. It also has a rule against players transferring within the conference outside of the NCAA-approved transfer portal window in January. So it’s not clear whether the players winning on Thursday would result in LSU putting them on the roster.

So far, no other SEC school appears willing to challenge the penalties. LSU’s administration has also been silent since last week’s vote; its president was part of the 16-0 vote to enforce rules against taking the former pros, though he abstained from a 15-0 vote on the penalties.

Kiffin disagreed Monday with the idea that it’s too late, this close to the season, to add players.

“It’s a long season,” he said. “Just like in the NFL, they take people in Week 1 knowing that, hey, they’ll have them ready by Week 2 or 3, 4, and then they’ll be playing their best in another system. So every coach runs their program the way they want to and they see things differently. And I respect that.

“If it makes your team better, and it’s legal to do, and your players want it, I’ll take the hit publicly for it.”