LSU’s push to add former NFL hopefuls Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris has turned into something bigger than a roster move. It has become a conference problem, and Paul Finebaum thinks the Tigers are putting themselves on the wrong side of it.
The situation stems from a ruling that made Class of 2022 players eligible for a fifth season, even if they had already used all four years of eligibility. LSU is reportedly trying to take advantage of that opening by bringing in Wright, a tight end, and Harris, a defensive tackle. Both were attempting to land spots with NFL teams in the preseason but were cut.
That effort has not gone unnoticed inside the SEC. The league passed a rule meant to stop schools from pursuing players in this way and attached significant fines for coaches and programs that do. Even so, there are still legal questions in play, including the SEC reportedly being prepared to challenge a Louisiana court order that would permit the players to compete.
Some SEC schools have apparently eased off because of that uncertainty. LSU has not.
On "The Paul Finebaum Show," Finebaum said the issue has moved beyond the two players and beyond Kiffin. In his view, LSU’s posture toward the conference is what really matters now.
"LSU, as has been said here and in other places, is really becoming an outcast," Finebaum said. "...
They're basically spitting in the eye of the commissioner of the SEC and the rest of the league. The commissioner is an emissary of the presidents of all 16 schools.
I just can't quite figure out who's running that place."
The Tigers, in other words, are not just chasing help at a couple of positions. They are forcing a test of how much control the SEC still has as court rulings, eligibility changes and roster rules keep reshaping college football.
Kiffin has long made a habit of looking for edges other coaches might miss. At LSU, though, that instinct is colliding with the conference structure the program still has to live under.
Whether Wright, Harris or anyone else ends up in Baton Rouge may wind up being a footnote. The real story is whether LSU keeps pushing and makes the SEC draw a hard line.
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