LSU has already poured more than $40 million into its roster for 2026, but Lane Kiffin is still shopping.
With the season opener against Clemson less than two weeks away, LSU is trying to add two fifth-year college players who had already drifted into NFL territory: former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright and former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka. Wright was dressed for a Browns preseason game on Saturday night, though he did not play a snap against the Buffalo Bills. Tuihalamaka has already finished four seasons and 54 games in South Bend.
Kiffin made it clear Monday that LSU is going after them anyway.
“They’re either going to play for you or they’re going to play somewhere else around the country,” Kiffin said Monday at his weekly news conference. “So we’ve made the decision to recruit them, like probably most people are.”
The move fits the strange new reality of 2026 college football, where eligibility and roster-building are moving targets. LSU can pursue both players after Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court granted a temporary restraining order last week that gives more than 30 college athletes, including 16 football players, a fifth season of eligibility. That ruling is one of several lawsuits tied to the NCAA’s age-based eligibility rule change this spring.
Wright and Tuihalamaka didn’t become LSU targets until the middle of preseason camp, and both bring different kinds of value to a roster already loaded with high-end talent. LSU signed the No. 1 transfer portal class in January, a haul of more than 40 players, and four of those newcomers - left tackle Jordan Seaton, edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, linebacker TJ Dottery and safety Ty Benefield - landed on the preseason All-SEC teams.
LSU had nine players selected overall, trailing only Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma, which each had 12. Even with that, the Tigers are ranked 11th in the AP preseason Top 25 after a 7-6 season and a coaching change.
Still, Kiffin has continued to dial down the noise around expectations, and the late recruiting push hints at where he thinks the roster can still be strengthened.
On defense, the edge is the obvious spot. LSU’s defensive line includes 14 former blue-chip recruits, plus five-star freshmen Deuce Geralds and Richard Anderson, who are expected to start or play major roles at defensive tackle.
But outside of Umanmielen, there isn’t much proven experience on the edge. That makes Tuihalamaka a logical target.
He played his final game for Notre Dame in late November and finished the 2025 season with three starts, 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack. His 971 college snaps would be the most of any LSU defensive lineman, his six career starts would be tied for second-most on the unit, and his nine career tackles for loss would trail only Umanmielen’s 20.
Wright would address a different issue. He spent two years at Virginia Tech and two more at Ole Miss under Kiffin before going undrafted, signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on May 1, then being released on Aug. 10 and joining the Browns a day later. If he gets through waivers and can work around the SEC’s intraleague transfer rules, he could end up back in Kiffin’s orbit in Baton Rouge.
That process is not simple. The SEC currently bars transfers between conference schools outside the January transfer window, and it is still unclear whether that restriction applies to a player coming back from the NFL.
If Wright does land at LSU, he could change the way the offense is built. First-team All-SEC selection Trey’Dez Green, a 6-7, 237-pound receiver who plays tight end, would not have to do as much blocking at the line.
LSU’s depth behind Green includes former Pitt backup Malachi Thomas, Oregon transfer Zach Grace, four-star redshirt freshman JD LaFleur and four-star true freshman JC Anderson. Thomas had 13 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Wright, meanwhile, had 39 catches for 635 yards and five touchdowns last season at Ole Miss and is listed at 6-4, 246 pounds. Pairing him with Green would give offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. another way to create matchup problems and lean on two-tight end sets.
For Kiffin, the timing and the target list say plenty. He is still looking, still pushing, and still trying to squeeze more out of a roster that already cost a fortune.
“We’re always going to look at every avenue to give you the best team, to give you the best players, so that you have the best chance to win,” he said when asked how he addresses the situation with his players. “And we’re always going to be trying to get better in every area, no matter what. And anytime portal or acquisitions come up, that’s what we’re going to do.”
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