Amid expulsion talk, Lane Kiffin says LSU intends to comply with SEC orders regarding NFL players: 'Of course we will'

With potential expulsion from the SEC on the table , LSU football coach Lane Kiffin said Monday his program has no intention of defying conference rules regarding former NFL players on its football roster.

The first-year LSU head coach addressed the firestorm during his first game-week news conference with the program ahead of Saturday's season debut against Clemson.

There was little talk of Clemson on Monday, and the first question Kiffin faced regarded whether players who had signed NFL contracts would make LSU's final roster, which faces a Friday deadline to be settled. Doing so would be in violation of SEC rules established last week prohibiting teams in any sport from rostering players who had signed professional contracts.

Kiffin said that he has no intention of defying any SEC rules, which are being contested pending a court hearing on Thursday.

"So we'll wait till this week to see if there's any more guidance," Kiffin said, regarding that court hearing. "And the question whether myself as the head coach of football and will football follow SEC orders? … Of course, we will."

Multiple players from NFL training camps are on LSU's preseason roster

Kiffin faced the line of questioning days head of the SEC's deadline to set rosters for the season at 105 players. Tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, who played for Kiffin at Ole Miss, have reportedly signed with the program and practiced ahead of Saturday's Clemson game.

Wright signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Cleveland Browns for their training camp. He was waived by the Browns. Harris signed with the New Orleans Saints and was also waived.

Edge rusher Jack Pyburn, who spent training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also joined LSU in the preseason, but was reportedly claimed on waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday and will return to the NFL.

Local judge greenlit eligibility in defiance of NCAA

All of them joined LSU after a court ruling by Baton Rouge-based District Court Judge William Jorden granted more than 40 former NCAA athletes from the 2022 recruiting class a fifth year of eligibility in conflict with an NCAA ruling restricting them. The NCAA recently passed its "five in five" model granting athletes five years of eligibility, but it did not apply to the 2022 class.

Jorden's ruling led to a wave of players who had signed pro contracts attempting to return to college on NIL deals, several with LSU.

The SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC responded with their own resolutions barring players who had been drafted by pro teams or signed pro contracts from playing for their programs. That same Baton Rouge judge on Friday accepted an amended temporary restraining order that restored those athletes' eligibility and prohibited the SEC's planned effort to punish schools in defiance of its rule.

SEC in compliance, but considering drastic measures

The SEC on Saturday communicated its intent to comply with the restraining order. But sources told Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger that the SEC is exploring its options to address LSU's plans to add former pros to its rosters with consequences on the table including member teams boycotting competition against LSU and even expulsion from the conference.

The next step for all parties hinges on another hearing in a Baton Rouge court scheduled for Thursday in which a judge will determine if the temporary restraining order striking down the SEC's ban of pro players will be more permanent until a trial is held. That's two days before LSU-Clemson.

Thursday hearing looms over LSU's season opener Saturday

Which brings us to Kiffin's news conference on Monday with his program at the center of a firestorm before he's coached a single game at LSU. Kiffin told reporters that his program was awaiting that Thursday decision before deciding how to move forward.

"There's no intent nor there ever was to play somebody that we're not supposed to over an SEC rule," Kiffin said. "I'm not the spokesperson. I think now you're waiting to see Thursday.

"The SEC had a stance, made a rule. The judge felt that they couldn't do that to the players. We'll be practicing, focused on Clemson and spending our time on that all week. They can figure out the rest, and we'll just wait for guidance."

Kiffin said that Wright had been practicing with the program. He contends that the player has done so in compliance with the SEC and that the conference's rules as they stand only prohibit players from being on the roster after final cuts on Friday. He made no mention of Harris when asked about who was practicing with the team.

"I can tell you that Dae'Quan practiced," Kiffin said. "And the SEC knows that. We asked them before.

"Again, that's in no violation of any previous rule or even the rule that's out there now. The new rule does not prohibit that. It strictly talks about that final roster when you make your 105 Friday."

Kiffin reiterated that LSU intends to comply with "what the SEC guides us to do" specifically regarding players like Wright.

Kiffin was also asked Monday if the chaos this has created is worthwhile. He said that he's comfortable with chaos and that he took the decision of bringing these players on board to the leaders on his roster. Per Kiffin, 'every one' of them was on board.

"I've lived in chaos for a long time. I like to say chaos is OK as long as it's controlled chaos, especially in this room with your players. … I've said it before to our staff, to our players. We're gonna have chaos. But we're gonna have controlled chaos. And our team is gonna understand why we do what we do. Just like in this decision about potentially taking players.

"I went to the players, 'What do you want to do?' And they wanted to do it. It's not like it's chaos that comes in and they don't understand it. Which is the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter if national media understands why we do what we do for our team, or other fan bases. It just matters that these guys do."