A Baton Rouge judge just threw a massive wrench into the college football landscape on Thursday, ruling squarely against the NCAA in a critical eligibility case for former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris, and others. This decision clears the way for these guys to return to the college game, and LSU is the biggest winner here, with Wright and Harris now able to reunite with Coach Lane Kiffin on the Tigers’ roster.
Lane Kiffin’s Wild Argument Just Got Validated
Look, the NCAA’s eligibility rules can feel like they’re written on a cocktail napkin sometimes, but the core here is a five-year rule, which got extended to players from the 2022 recruiting class. The argument being made? That players who previously spent time with professional teams should totally be allowed back into college within that five-year window under the current rule. Judge William Jorden clearly bought it. He sided with the players after hearing all the testimony in the case, even listening to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey plead his side. This isn’t just some technicality either; Kiffin has been a huge advocate for Wright and Harris getting back on the Tigers. It might seem backward to some, pushing for guys with pro experience, but his whole argument centers on these athletes only attending NFL minicamps or getting cut before they even made final rosters. They didn’t really ‘make it’ professionally, so why should that block their college future? Judge Jorden agreed.
The SEC Took a Shot at LSU, But This Ruling Might Shut It Down
Things got extra spicy on Thursday. The SEC, led by Commissioner Sankey, actually filed a separate lawsuit earlier in the day *against* LSU and Kiffin! They were trying to block former professional players from playing in the conference entirely. Talk about trying to shut down a party before it even starts. But then this latest ruling came down, and it looks like it might just put that whole SEC lawsuit to bed before it even had a chance to get going. This whole fight between the NCAA, the SEC, and these former pro players isn’t over, not by a long shot, but this ruling is a significant blow to the NCAA and, by extension, the SEC’s efforts to keep these guys out. LSU is absolutely planning on adding players with previous NFL experience to their roster now, you can bet on it.
This whole mess is far from settled, though. Sankey and the SEC are still reserving the right to kick LSU out of the conference over this. Yeah, you read that right. Kick them out! This will definitely heat up even more before everything is finally wrapped up. What’s next for these Tigers and the conference power struggle? It’s going to be a wild ride.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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