LSU’s roster fight took a sharp turn Tuesday night, and the Tigers ended up siding with the SEC’s hard line.
Hours after the conference amended a lawsuit in a way that raised the possibility of expelling LSU, the Tigers added edge rusher Gabriel Reliford and cornerback Aidan Anding to their 105-player roster. That move filled the roster to the limit and shut the door on Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two players who had signed NFL contracts over the summer and hoped to join LSU after being waived.
The dispute centered on whether athletes who had signed professional contracts should be allowed back into college football. The SEC argued against that idea in order to keep the line between college and pro sports intact, while LSU challenged the conference’s reading of the rule.
Wright and Harris had both signed as undrafted free agents, never appeared in an NFL game and were waived before planning to continue at LSU. The two former Ole Miss players had intended to play for Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin once they cleared waivers.
LSU’s attempt to bring them in was unprecedented and, in the process, created a path other SEC schools could have followed with former pro players of their own.
The situation escalated quickly Tuesday morning when the SEC put the possibility of removing LSU from the conference on the table. LSU has been in the league since its founding in 1932, which made the threat a massive and unusual development.
The legal fight drew attention well beyond college athletics, even pulling in political reaction. “I’ve got rocks in my driveway that are smarter than that, they’re not going to throw LSU out of the SEC,” Sen.
John Kennedy said. Kennedy represents Louisiana in the United States Senate.
In its legal filing, the SEC said LSU’s conduct as a conference member was “inconsistent with the publicly stated values and principles of the conference.”
Kiffin had already kept Wright and Harris off the roster for last Saturday’s game against Clemson, even after both were among more than 40 athletes granted eligibility in a Louisiana class-action lawsuit. During halftime of LSU’s 31-3 lead over Clemson, Kiffin joked about the controversy.
“Imagine if we had pro players,” Kiffin said.
By Tuesday night, though, the standoff was over for LSU’s roster, with the Tigers using those final two spots on Reliford and Anding instead of the disputed former professionals.
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LSUs Ex-Pro Fight Just Ran Into A Bigger Roster Problem
LSUs roster picture got a lot tighter this week after the Tigers added injured players Aidan Anding and Gabriel Reliford to the official list, bringing the program to the NCAA limit of 105. For a team already juggling roster management and outside scrutiny, the move matters because it leaves no immediate room to add former NFL players DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris, even as the program continues sorting through the broader mess.
The situation has also spilled well beyond the depth chart. The SEC has threatened penalties and even a vote to expel LSU over its efforts to bring in the ex-professionals, while legal action involving LSU officials and the conference is still moving forward. Lane Kiffin has publicly backed the idea of signing Wright and Harris, saying he believed both were deserving of fifth seasons, but for now the Tigers are stuck with a roster logjam and no clear answer on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Faces Mounting SEC Pressure In Fight That Could Force A Response
LSUs roster decision has turned into a broader SEC headache, with the conference now pressing the school over a move that brought former NFL players back into college football. Tony Clayton, who represents DaeQuan Wright and Zxavaian Harris, publicly took aim at commissioner Greg Sankey after LSU declined to roster his clients and instead added two injured players, a sequence that has only added fuel to an already tangled dispute.
The conference has threatened to expel LSU for violating bylaws that bar former professional players from returning to college, and the matter has spilled into federal court with the SEC, NCAA and LSU all caught in the legal crosscurrents. Lane Kiffin has denied orchestrating the players return, but he has backed them legally, leaving LSU in the middle of a fight that is no longer just about a depth chart and could end up forcing a response from the conference office. [Read more 🡒]
LSU's Latest Roster Decision Just Closed The Door On A Bigger Fight
LSU quietly firmed up its 2026 roster picture by adding defensive end Gabriel Reliford and cornerback Aidan Anding back onto the teams official website, pushing the group to 105 players. Both were absent from the original fall camp roster after suffering season-ending injuries in spring practice, but their return to the listings gives the Tigers another layer of clarity as they settle into the next phase of roster planning.
The move also shuts the door on a broader question that had lingered around Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, whose potential path to LSU this season had been clouded by concerns over SEC sanctions tied to players with previous professional contracts. With Reliford and Anding back in place, LSUs roster math no longer leaves room for that scenario, ending a fight that had become part personnel issue, part compliance watch. [Read more 🡒]