BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright participated in a walk-through practice conducted by first-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin on Monday as the 11th-ranked Tigers prepared for Saturday night’s season opener against Clemson.Whether Wright or a couple other players who spent part of this offseason with NFL clubs — defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and defensive back Blake Cotton —- ever suit up for LSU remains in doubt because of litigation. The Southeastern Conference last week passed a rule barring pro players from returning to the league and it was promptly put on hold by a Texas judge.Kiffin wasn’t about to allow any kind of criticism stop him from embracing the opportunity to bring in players like Wright, who played for him at Mississippi last season.“I feel like my decisions should always be made in the best interest of the players that sit in this team room and not for my reputation, and how my decisions play in national media and other fan bases. I’ve never been that way and that could be wrong,” he said.
Kiffin said that if college players are being paid like professionals, he is willing to make the case that college teams should not hesitate to sieze opportunities to make late roster additions in much the same way NFL teams do. He also said he met with LSU team leaders about whether to welcome recent pros back to college just days before a season-opener.“Every one of them was emphatic about, ‘If they can help us win, bring ’em,’” Kiffin said. “That made me feel a little better.”
