A temporary restraining order issued by a Louisiana judge has created an opening for a former NFL player to return to college football, and LSU coach Lane Kiffin appears ready to take advantage of it.
Dae'Quan Wright, a tight end who played at Ole Miss and dressed for the Cleveland Browns in a preseason game Saturday, could become the first player to move from an active NFL roster back to college football. The court order, granted by 19th Judicial District Court Judge Will Jorden in Baton Rouge, stems from a lawsuit filed in Louisiana last week by athletes from the 2022 recruiting class against the NCAA.
The ruling opened what amounted to a one-week transfer window, allowing athletes to contemplate an unprecedented sequence: participating in NFL training camp one week, then enrolling in college classes the next. According to a report by Fox News, the court order specifies that any school taking a player protected by the temporary restraining order cannot be punished by the NCAA or its conference for adding that player to its roster.
Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken addressed the situation Sunday night after the team's preseason game, where Wright dressed but did not play. Monken had received a call from Kiffin the previous week but had not returned it.
"Man, isn't this s--- crazy?" Monken told reporters. "I don't even know what to say. ... I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out to me a week ago, now I know. I didn't call him back; I guess I should have."
The situation is further complicated by SEC transfer rules. The conference has a rule that prohibits athletes from transferring to another SEC school outside of the normal portal period. That rule was established following a situation involving former Alabama defensive back Mo Smith. Under normal circumstances, Wright would not be allowed to play for Ole Miss in 2025 and then LSU in 2026 if the transfer occurred outside the standard portal window.
However, the court order appears to create an exception. There is also no existing SEC rule that specifically addresses a player going from an SEC school to the NFL and then back to a different conference program within the same calendar year, according to Fox News.
The broader eligibility landscape remains unsettled. The Tenth Circuit in Colorado granted a stay in the Wisne v. NCAA case last week, halting a blanket waiver that had allowed members of the 2022 class to join any team willing to accept them. But that stay only pushed litigation to the state level, prompting additional lawsuits, including the one filed near LSU's campus. Former LSU edge rusher Jack Pyburn is also reportedly considering a return to Baton Rouge under the same court order.
