By: @OOSSports

Lane Kiffin said Monday he was torn about chasing former NFL rookies who want a fifth college season — especially with the SEC fighting the idea. Then his own locker room settled it.

He put the situation in front of LSU’s player leadership group: tight end Dae’Quan Wright (cut by the Browns), defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, and former Tigers edge Jack Pyburn, all recently released by NFL teams. Wright has already been practicing. So has former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka.

The vote wasn’t close. ESPN’s Heather Dinich first reported that Kiffin said every player on the leadership group was emphatic: if the additions can help LSU win, bring them.

“Every one of them was emphatic about, ‘If they can help us win, bring ’em,’” Kiffin said at his weekly news conference. One player framed it as how the NFL and the real world already work. That, Kiffin said, made him “feel a little better in the struggle.”

Kiffin’s final roster is due to the SEC on Friday, one day before LSU opens at home against Clemson. He said it’s too soon to say whether any of the late arrivals play Week 1.

He also said LSU wouldn’t have to cut anyone to add them. The Tigers are already under the 105-man cap, and season-ending injuries return those spots.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took the opposite stance the same day. He said he isn’t refreshing court rulings all day, and that bumping a player who’s been in the building nine months so a guy coming off an NFL roster can take his place “doesn’t sit well with me. I think that’s wrong. That, morally, is wrong.”

The legal fight remains open. On Thursday in Baton Rouge, a judge will hear arguments on whether the SEC and NCAA violated the court order with new penalties tied to the pro-athlete rules. The current temporary restraining order blocks the league from punishing a school that plays a football player added after he signed an NFL (or NBA/WNBA) contract.

Those penalties are not small: a half-season coach suspension, a fine equal to 50% of the sport’s annual budget, and loss of league voting rights.

If the TRO gets tossed, Kiffin said LSU will follow SEC rules. He said there has never been a plan to play someone ineligible.

“The SEC had a stance, made a rule,” he said. “A judge felt that they couldn’t do that to the players, so we’ll be practicing, focused on Clemson… they can figure out the rest and we’ll just wait for guidance.”

Kiffin’s close: he’s lived in chaos for a long time. Controlled chaos is fine if the players understand it. He said he doesn’t make these calls to protect his reputation.

“Even if it’s a couple of players that maybe don’t even start, if it makes your team better, and it’s legal to do, and the players want it, I’ll take the hit publicly for it. That’s my job.”