LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is not apologizing for shaking up college football once again. While rival coaches complain about LSU grabbing cut NFL rookies right before the season, Kiffin insists he is just playing by the new rules handed down by a federal judge.
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Defending his moves during a recent press conference, Kiffin pointed out that recent court injunctions opened the portal to fifth-year players across the country. To him, it is simple math. Either LSU takes these pro-level talents, or a rival program will.
“We have made a decision to recruit some kids around the country, and you know, through these multiple injunctions around the country, which this is not a first time they’ve been in college sports for a while, a group of players were granted a fifth year of eligibility for the country in multiple sports, and through them winning their injunction and entry into the portal, they’re available to recruit,” Lane Kiffin said in the press conference. “So, like ourselves, like many places around the country, are recruiting them.
And at the end of the day, you know, because of these rulings, they’re either going to play for you or they’re going to play somewhere else around the country. So we put a decision to recruit them.”
Dubbed the “Portal King” during his time at Ole Miss, Kiffin has built a reputation for reshaping rosters overnight. At LSU, he is taking that playbook to another level by plugging NFL-trained bodies straight into key depth chart holes. Adding an interior lineman and a ready-made pro tight end gives LSU the physical muscle needed to survive the SEC grind and push for a National Championship.
The move sits on razor-thin legal ground. A local Baton Rouge judge issued a temporary restraining order granting 2022-class players an extra year, but SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has already warned member schools against assuming these players are cleared. Sankey publicly criticized allowing former pro athletes back into college ranks, reminding teams that intraconference transfer rules still apply.
What makes this roster experiment wild is the personal drama involved. Kiffin had to set pride aside to welcome defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, the second former Ole Miss star to commit to LSU this week after blasting Kiffin on his way out of Oxford.
Harris played for Kiffin at Ole Miss before signing with the New Orleans Saints this spring. But after Kiffin’s departure for Baton Rouge, Harris didn’t hold back, calling the move “a slap in the face” and accusing his former coach of repeatedly reassuring players that the rumors weren’t true.
“When Kiffin was there, he was telling us, like, almost every day, don’t believe the rumors… Like, he’s not gonna leave… We should have believed it, and he just left out of nowhere,” Harris said during the Draft Combine.
Harris went even further, labeling Kiffin a “troll” and questioning his coaching ability compared to Pete Golding, the Rebels’ current head coach.
Fast forward to now, and the story has taken a pretty wild turn. Harris has seemingly put the past behind him, posting on Instagram that joining forces with Kiffin at LSU is simply a “business decision.”
Harris follows former Ole Miss teammate Dae’quan Wright, who became the first active NFL player to enter the college portal after being waived by the Cleveland Browns. Wright made his move quietly through his agent, setting up the framework that opened the door for Harris.
By taking advantage of Louisiana’s court ruling, Kiffin is breaking new ground on how college football and the NFL overlap. While rival SEC programs question the ethics, Kiffin is putting everything on the line, betting that NFL-trained talent is his quickest ticket to a national championship at LSU.