LSU makes final decision on adding ex-NFL players to roster amid threat of expulsion from SEC over controversy

Louisiana State University has finalized its football roster and in doing so, the program appears to have defused college football’s biggest scandal while preserving its place in the Southeastern Conference.

SEC leaders were set to meet Thursday to discuss the possibility of kicking LSU out of the league over Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin’s effort to add former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to the roster. Both Wright and Harris played for Kiffin at Ole Miss last season before signing with NFL teams as undrafted free agents, only to enroll at LSU this summer in an unprecedented attempt to return to college football. 

But as first reported by ESPN on Tuesday night, LSU has added two other players to its 105-man roster, thereby locking in the Tigers roster for the remainder of the season. The move ends any chance Wright or Harris have of playing for LSU in 2026.

The Daily Mail has sought confirmation from LSU spokespeople. Additionally, The Daily Mail has reached out to SEC spokespeople for comment. 

The Tigers officially had only 103 players on their 105-man roster for their Week 1 blowout win over visiting Clemson as Kiffin opted to hold off on the decision to add Wright or Harris amid a legal battle with SEC rivals.

The SEC filed an amendment to the federal lawsuit it filed against the school in Alabama last Thursday and has 'scheduled a meeting on Thursday to decide whether to terminate LSU as an SEC member institution'.

SEC rules state a vote of at least two-thirds of all presidents would be required to terminate a school's membership.

'The SEC and its member universities have the right to establish, through agreed-upon governance procedures, the rules under which they voluntarily compete and to expect those rules to be followed,' the SEC said in a statement on Tuesday.

'A commitment to those rules, and to the core principles of the Southeastern Conference, is an essential element of SEC membership.

'Today's filing is necessary to defend that right and preserve the Conference's ability to govern competition among its members.'

Kiffin's halftime interview during LSU's 51-10 win over Clemson on Saturday night is also mentioned in the amended complaint.

'Imagine if we had pro players,' Kiffin told ABC.

The amended complaint alleged that Kiffin's comments 'stand in sharp contrast to the silence by the President and Athletic Director of LSU' and 'confirm the lack of institutional control over the athletics program at LSU that is required by Article 6 of the SEC Constitution and by the remaining provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws.'

A Louisiana judge last week issued a preliminary injunction against the NCAA that paved the way for LSU to include former NFL players on its roster.

East Baton Rouge Parish Judge William Jorden issued his ruling the night before LSU was due to submit its 105-man roster to the SEC. They declined to name Harris, a former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman, and Wright, a former Cleveland Browns tight end, on the initial roster.

'It’s not about coach Kiffin. It’s not about LSU. It’s about treating these kids fairly,' said Tony Clayton, an attorney for the athletes. 'Today, justice was served. And justice was serve to the SEC. It was served like a cold cup of gumbo. And that judge forced them to eat it.'

The ruling followed a nearly nine-hour hearing in a courtroom less than three miles from the LSU campus. Several athletes took the stand to explain why they should be allowed to return to play college sports for a fifth season - some of them after turning pro.

The commissioner of the powerful SEC argued against them, and the league doubled down by filing a lawsuit against the school in a federal court in Alabama. That lawsuit could become the SEC's best chance at preventing former pros from playing this season.

Thursday's hearing was attended by Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill, who filed an athlete-friendly brief in the case. While she did not make any arguments in court, she spoke after the hearing and referred to the SEC's federal lawsuit against LSU as 'legal garbage,' and 'frivolous.'