“This is how it works at the next level. This is how the real world works,” a member of LSU’s player leadership committee reportedly told head coach Lane Kiffin when asked about adding former NFL players to the Tigers’ roster. But despite getting the green light from both his locker room and a Louisiana judge, Kiffin ultimately played it safe. When LSU submitted its final roster ahead of the opener, it left out tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris.

Once the temporary injunction was granted, both Wright and Harris expected their names to be on Friday’s final roster. But because the ruling isn’t final, the SEC still has the right to hit LSU with heavy sanctions if they follow through. Reacting to the way Kiffin and LSU made a complete U-turn on the situation, former Kansas City Chiefs QB Chase Daniel was quick to criticize the decision.

“I think Lane Kiffin is all bark, no bite,” Daniel said on ESPN’s SEC Nation, via X. “If this would have went through, this would have completely changed the entire landscape of college football. And so when you have these guys, they’re not professional. There’s no set rules. It’s still the wild, wild west.”

Kiffin clarified after the deadline that it was a team-wide decision, because had he rostered those players, the program could have faced penalties. That could include a half-season suspension for the head coach, a 50 percent fine on the sport’s operating budget, and a restriction of conference voting rights for the school.

“Yeah, that wasn’t easy,” he said on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday. “I feel for the players. I believe you fight for what you believe in, and I believe these kids have an opportunity to play, just like all the other kids around the country that are winning court cases and being put on rosters.

“At the same time, I’m the head coach at LSU, and I have to make a decision that is for the big picture of LSU and the LSU football program. With the uncertainties of what potentially could’ve come by adding them to the roster … what would that mean if we added them?”

The NCAA rolled out a new eligibility rule in June, expanding standard college eligibility to five years. That prompted Kiffin to pursue adding former pro players to the team. To make that a reality, Wright and Harris, both of the class of 2022, filed a lawsuit alongside other former players against the NCAA and SEC to seek a temporary injunction and regain their eligibility.

On Thursday, the decision came in their favor, but the SEC filed a lawsuit against LSU, President Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry, and new coach Lane Kiffin in an attempt to block the move.

According to Daniel, such transformational changes in college football are creating a confusing middle ground where the line between amateur and professional athletes keeps blurring, and that uncertainty is what makes the situation so volatile.

“That’s why I have a real problem with where college football is headed, because we’re trying to mix it, either make them professionals or make them amateurs. And it’s another issue of the NCAA not being able to lay the hammer down on Lane Kiffin. He was going to ostracize himself if he would have went ahead with this,” Daniel added.

That being said, this wasn’t the first time a college football program attempted to bring back a player with NFL tryout experience. The Texas Longhorns added offensive lineman Cole Hutson in August. Hutson also had to file a lawsuit for his fifth-year eligibility and ultimately reached a legal agreement with the NCAA, returning to training camp with the Longhorns.