Lane Kiffin weighed in on LSU’s decision to recruit a number of players who gained another year of eligibility at the college level despite several having spent time in NFL training camps recently.
The LSU head coach defended his program by saying that recent injunctions had made this group of players available to recruit. If the Tigers did not do so, someone else would.
“Through these multiple injunctions around the country, a group of players were granted a fifth year of eligibility in multiple sports. Through them winning their injunction and entry into the portal, they’re available to recruit. So ourselves, like many people around the country, are recruiting them,” Kiffin said. “At the end of the day, 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 the decision to recruit them.”
Lane Kiffin defends decision of LSU to recruit Dae'Quan Wright, others with NFL ties
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) August 24, 2026
“At the end of the day..because of these rulings, they’re either going to play for you or they’re going to play somewhere else around the country. We made the decision to recruit them” pic.twitter.com/17gdkGJEmm
LSU has been strongly linked to transfer tight end Dae’Quan Wright, who played for Kiffin at Ole Miss for the last two seasons. Wright spent time in training camp with the Cleveland Browns, but sought his release and entered the transfer portal once a court injunction granted him an additional year of NCAA eligibility.
Few will like it, but Kiffin’s statements are correct. As long as these players are eligible, someone will pursue them. Kiffin wants them playing for LSU, not someone else.
Many programs eye Kiffin warily, and there were rumors that he and his staff sought to tamper with his former Ole Miss players after he took the LSU job. Unlike in that instance, however, Kiffin is not doing anything against the rules here. He is merely taking advantage of a lot of those rules suddenly collapsing.
