As of this writing, the SEC conference office has not weighed in on LSU's acquisition of ex-Cleveland Browns tight end Dae'Quan Wright, but Lane Kiffin spoke on the controversial signing on Monday.
“So, you know, we have you know made a decision to recruit some kids around the country, and through these multiple injunctions around the country, which, this is not a first time in college sports, players were granted a fifth year of eligibility in multiple sports,” Kiffin said, via Jacques Doucet of WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge. “And through them winning their injunction and entry into the portal, they’re available to recruit. So ourselves, like many places around the country, are recruiting them.
“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 made a decision to recruit them.”
. @LSUfootball @Lane_Kiffin speaks on the reports Dae’Quan Wright could join the #LSU team. pic.twitter.com/x045kdwzmL
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) August 24, 2026
It should be noted Wright is not the only NFL wannabe to return to college football, and likely not the last. But he is the closest player yet to playing in an actual NFL game, and then returning to college football. And he's doing it at LSU, the athletics department most brazen about flaunting norms in college sports on a number of fronts.
Wright is a member of a class of athletes who sued in Louisiana to win the right to a fifth season, and LSU is the most active school recruiting that group, which also includes former LSU defensive end Jack Pyburn and former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris. The SEC has a rule against intra-conference transfers outside the January portal window, and the college sports industry waits to see if and when the league office will defend said rule.
“These kids, if they get a fifth year, they should be able to go wherever they want,” Kiffin said earlier this month. “Any conference. Anywhere. Because they didn’t have a chance. And there’s going to be places that don’t want them back because they’re full or they don’t need that position or there’s new coaches there. It would be really, a shame, to limit these kids to where they go back to, NCAA or conferences.”
Depending on how many players LSU adds, the Tigers could cut active players to make room on the roster. The 11th-ranked Tigers open with Clemson on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).