The LSU Tigers are the main focus of college football right now. They tried to get players who had spent time with NFL teams cleared to return to college football and won preliminary relief in court.
But with the uproar that surrounded it, Dae’Quan Wright was not added to LSU’s gameday roster against Clemson. Head coach Lane Kiffin weighed in on the controversy involving Wright.
Lane Kiffin Outlines Main Factors That Led to Dae’Quan Wright Controversy
Kiffin, who coached Wright at Ole Miss, came to his player’s defense and explained why he feels there is so much controversy surrounding the tight end’s decision to try to return to college football after his brief stint with the Cleveland Browns in training camp. Kiffin feels there are four reasons for the uproar surrounding this eligibility debate.
“I think it was the perfect storm. I think it was LSU, it was Lane Kiffin, it was a player that had an NFL uniform on, and he used to play at Ole Miss,” said Kiffin.
.@MartySmithESPN & @ESPNMcGee sit down with Lane Kiffin to discuss the state of LSU football entering Week 1 and tonight’s matchup against Clemson 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/niZY22KbPm
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 5, 2026
Of the four things Kiffin listed, the biggest factor was obviously the NFL portion. Of course, Kiffin is no stranger to controversy, and his Ole Miss exit earned him plenty of heat, but the transition from professional football to amateur sports is raising plenty of questions about who is really eligible.
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However, Kiffin, who is not one to back down, made sure to stand behind Wright in his fight to play for LSU.
“If you don’t fight for him in this, where everyone else gets to be cleared around the country,” said Kiffin. “And you can go to minicamps, but if you went to a training camp and didn’t play a preseason game… not only can’t you play, you’re at a loss. Just think about the uproar of everything around this and these other ones, no one’s even paying attention to, and they’re going, or in other sports that they’re already playing.”
Kiffin had to make the tough choice not to put him on the gameday roster as LSU hosts Clemson in Death Valley on primetime. Wright wasn’t the only former Ole Miss player to try to play for Kiffin after signing with an NFL team, as Zxavian Harris also tried and was left off the roster as well.
Defending his player is at the heart of Kiffin’s stance. He felt a personal responsibility to fight for Wright, who had previously stood up for him when Kiffin sought to coach Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff after agreeing to take the LSU job.
Kiffin also called out inconsistencies in the eligibility rules, noting that some players have more than four years in college and receive special treatment, which he said isn’t fair to Wright or Harris.
“This is the part I feel bad about, that none of that’s his fault,” said Kiffin. “And he has to sit at home today and watch everybody else play, including players that have six years, that he knows, that are older than him. Wrong.”
The Tigers have to put this drama behind them for now as they have a tough Clemson team coming to town with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET. If LSU is distracted by this saga, Clemson could steal a big win over the No. 11 team in the country and could become an instant fan favorite for taking down LSU, the common enemy of the college football nation at the moment.
