In a move that may have saved the school’s SEC membership, LSU added two players to its roster. This brought their total to the league maximum of 105, leaving no room to add any former NFL players.
The move comes less than 24 hours before the SEC meets to hold a membership vote to determine whether LSU could remain in the conference after flaunting league rules and attempting to roster two former NFL players, Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris.
Wright and Harris had played for LSU head coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, and both were cut from NFL camps in August.
Both players were part of a legal suit filed by members of the class of 2022, which argued that the NCAA’s new age rules were prejudicial to them and that they should be granted an extra year of eligibility. Two weeks ago, a Colorado judge agreed with the players and granted their petition. This prompted the SEC and other conferences to adopt rules barring former NFL players from joining their rosters.
The following week, a Baton Rouge judge issued an injunction against the SEC, forbidding the league from taking punitive action against the players and allowing them to join the school’s football team.
The conference responded this week by threatening a vote to expel LSU from the conference entirely, citing a loss of institutional control after LSU head coach Lane Kiffin quipped about imagining the school having pro players in a sideline interview during Saturday night’s opening game.
The attorney for Wright and Harris says the players are exploring their legal options.
As of this writing, the SEC has not said whether it will cancel the LSU membership vote scheduled for Thursday.