ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit did not pretend to have all the answers when the conversation turned to the latest eligibility fight between LSU and the SEC. He admitted he had not followed the legal battle closely enough to have a strong opinion. But one part of it bothered him.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“It doesn’t make sense to me for somebody to go to the NBA, have an NBA jersey on, and then have the ability to come back and play college basketball,” Herbstreit said in an interview on September 3. “And the same would be true to me in the NFL. It doesn’t make sense if you put on an NFL uniform to have the ability to come back. I mean, that would seem like common sense to me.”
On Thursday, A Louisiana judge issued a preliminary injunction allowing former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to join LSU’s roster. Both had played under Kiffin at Ole Miss before moving to the pros. Wright spent time with the Cleveland Browns, while Harris was with the New Orleans Saints. The ruling gave Kiffin a significant victory in his pursuit to strengthen his roster ahead of his first campaign at Baton Rouge.
It also came on the same day the SEC took its fight with LSU to federal court. The conference sued LSU, Kiffin, and university officials in Alabama, arguing that the Tigers’ pursuit of former professionals violates SEC rules. The league wants the court to stop LSU from using those players. Herbstreit presented a rather bleak view of the current state of affairs.
“College football is upside down, and it has been for a number of years, and I don’t know how we’re ever going to get out of it,” Herbstreit said. “I don’t know how you get around everybody in litigation and being sued. If I’m a player and I don’t get the answer that I want, I just go find an attorney and go sue. For me, as a parent. I just worry.
“It’s one thing to chase money in this NIL era. It’s another thing to learn values that are going to help you. I just worry about where some of these players might be 5, 10, 15 years down the road when they’re not learning how to deal with adversity.”
Kiffin has made the former-pro route one of the strangest parts of his first offseason at LSU. Wright and Harris were not random additions. Both previously played for Kiffin at Ole Miss, and both had already taken the next step into professional football. Wright participated in the Browns’ offseason program before returning to the college game. Harris signed with the Saints after starting 15 games for Ole Miss in 2025. Now both are trying to play for Kiffin again.
That is exactly what the SEC has been trying to stop. The conference has explored all measures, up to suspending and removing LSU from the league altogether. Yesterday’s lawsuit against LSU and Lane Kiffin seems to be a step towards that. Even as the Baton Rouge program and its head coach remain in place despite the Louisiana court’s order. But it’s not just about Lane Kiffin or LSU. It’s about what college football has become lately.
After the NCAA adopted its 5-for-5 eligibility rule, it triggered a swarm of lawsuits across the country. According to reports, over 30 separate class-action lawsuits were filed, representing more than 400 student-athletes. Apart from that, the NCAA has consistently faced NIL lawsuits and legal cases over waiver denials, and has spent nearly $300 million on legal fees. The solution? Apart from federal antitrust legislation, no other approach appears feasible. That legislation, though, is currently stuck in Congress.