LSU registered a statement win over Clemson. But off the field, they are still dealing with controversy. After bringing in former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to the team, Lane Kiffin decided not to play them. Now, that move is just raising major questions about their football future.
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“Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris gotta be sick watching this game tonight,” former NFL nose tackle Breiden Fehoko said on X. “There’s no way they get put on the roster now, and they pretty much threw away their NFL careers to do this. Sickening.”
Wright and Harris are among the 16 players who took the NCAA to court to return to college football one more time, as the governing body has changed its eligibility rules. They have been waived by the respective NFL teams (the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints, and it is highly unlikely that they will find a spot on a practice roster after choosing to enter the transfer portal.
Their return to college football has been very unwelcome. LSU is now facing a lawsuit by the SEC, which had already stepped into the matter to render these players ineligible. Kiffin had them take part in practice with the team, and is perhaps the only figure batting for their presence in the college ranks. However, amid all this pressure, Harris and Wright were left out of the playing roster for LSU’s season opener against Clemson.
Kiffin said on College GameDay it “wasn’t easy” for him to leave them out, but he had to take the call in light of the “big picture of LSU and the LSU football program” amid the “uncertainties of what could come by adding them to the roster.”
“I would just say it’s kind of embarrassing,” Swinney said. “I mean, honestly, it’s just embarrassing that that’s where we are. I don’t blame the kids and people trying to take advantage of the system. I just think it’s embarrassing where we are with college football.”
Whether the two returnees from the NFL make the roster later in the season is yet to be seen. They might have to rely on good faith to resume their professional journey, in case this gamble does not work out.
Both Harris and Wright relied on their connection with Lane Kiffin to come to LSU.
Dae’Quan Wright transferred from Virginia Tech to Ole Miss and spent his final two college seasons playing under Kiffin. Zxavian Harris had an even longer run at Ole Miss, spending four seasons with the Rebels.
The case is bigger than just Wright and Harris because former Denver Broncos defensive back Blake Cotton also wants to join LSU. Around 450 athletes (not professional players) across the country are fighting for extra college eligibility, and about 300 are currently allowed to play while their cases are being decided.
“I think it’s unfortunate that there’s no regulation to anything right now,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore said in late August, in light of the Zxavian Harris situation. “My brother coaches college football so I follow it closely, just watching everything college football is going through.”
Even Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has supported the athletes, saying it is not fair to simply call them “NFL players” because they entered the NFL only after believing their college careers were already over.
Before the Clemson game, the SEC filed a lawsuit against LSU and its top brass, including Kiffin, to prevent these players from taking the field. The SEC is seeking a temporary injunction against the program, as it is being made to “associate with conduct that is contrary to the conference’s purpose and mission.”
Amid such an allegation, it doesn’t seem likely that Wright and Harris will get on that roster they risked their hard-earned NFL future for, having already gone undrafted this year.
With both the players’ futures up in the air, it will be interesting to see what the future brings for them.