Over the past 24 hours, LSU and the SEC have slowly backed down from a tense standoff over Lane Kiffin recruiting two players out of NFL training camps. But the two players at the heart of the matter—Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris—may have been left out in the cold.
LSU has chosen not to roster Wright and Harris. It’s now also unclear if they can return to the NFL this season. Meanwhile, the pair may seek more remedies from the legal system.
Last week, Wright and Harris won an injunction in a Louisiana state court to play a fifth year of college football. Though hundreds of other players have sued for a fifth year, their case made headlines because they had signed NFL preseason contracts and appeared on NFL rosters; they would have been the first to return to the college game. The SEC, after a futile attempt to block LSU from playing them, filed a federal lawsuit of its own, alleging LSU was infringing upon the SEC’s first amendment rights by taking actions against the wishes of other conference members, and asking a judge to rule the SEC had the power to exact punishments.
Though LSU did not roster the two players for the Week 1 matchup against Clemson, the SEC escalated its case against LSU on Tuesday, and scheduled a vote to expel LSU from the conference. On Tuesday night, LSU chose to fill out its full 105-man football roster without Wright and Harris—but it was unclear if the Tigers could switch out these players and add Wright and Harris later.
