Kellen Moore didn’t hide where he stands on Zxavian Harris heading back to LSU, and it sounds a lot like the reaction plenty of football fans are having.
“It’s a unique college football world we live in right now.” Moore said.
He added "I think it’s unfortunate that there’s no regulation to anything right now." This is a big story in football right now, and Moore believes, “there’s a challenging balancing act to this, and hopefully there can be some leadership and some regulations developed here shortly,
Harris is now set to play in Louisiana this season, just not for the New Orleans Saints. Instead, the former undrafted free agent is returning to college football with the LSU Tigers.
He was on the NFI list throughout his time in New Orleans and never took a practice snap there. Maybe they'll see him an hour up the road in Baton Rouge this year...
Maybe.
The move cuts against the way the sport has traditionally worked. Once a player reaches the pros, the door to college has usually been closed. That’s why this kind of decision stands out so sharply.
There’s also a real football reason behind it. Harris is part of the 2022 high school class and has been given a fifth year of eligibility.
By the time that extra year became available, the players who had already used up their original four years had mostly moved on into professional football. Plenty of others from that same class are still in school because of a redshirt year.
That distinction matters when people talk about the integrity of the game. Harris isn’t some older veteran heading back to campus; he’s a player who could still have been in college anyway, the same way fans see fifth-year seniors on Saturdays all the time.
From the player side, the logic is easy to follow. If a pro career starts with a low stock, going back to college gives a chance to get on the field and rebuild it. Harris is trying to do exactly that.
Whether it works is another matter. Even with the explanation, NFL teams are likely to look at this move unfavorably. Moore’s confusion is part of a wider feeling around the league.
And because Harris was already an undrafted free agent, there’s not much risk of a huge backlash the next time a situation like this comes up.
Still, collegiate conferences are pushing back on the idea of players returning to school after starting their pro careers. There’s a stigma attached to it, and the label of walking away from the work could follow those players when they try to get back to the NFL. Colleges may also decide they don’t want to give them another shot at rebuilding their value.
For Harris, the hope is that the fallout stays theoretical.
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