LSU finalized its 105-man roster for the 2026 college football season by adding two players instead of former NFL athletes Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, avoiding an escalating legal battle with the Southeastern Conference over eligibility rules and potential program expulsion.
LSU Locks Final 105-Man Roster Without Ex-NFL Players
The move effectively ends intense speculation that the Tigers would add former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to the active squad.
Wright had been waived by the Cleveland Browns in August, while Harris was waived by the New Orleans Saints. Both players practiced with LSU leading up to the team’s season-opening game against Clemson after a Louisiana judge granted a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction allowing them to return to college athletics under a new NCAA eligibility policy. However, neither player suited up for the opener, and the final roster lock leaves them off the team for the campaign, as detailed by cbssports.com.
SEC Lawsuit, Expulsion Threats, and Conference Pressure
The roster decision follows an extraordinary legal and political confrontation between the university and the Southeastern Conference. The SEC filed a federal lawsuit against LSU and Kiffin in Alabama, following an explosive court hearing in Baton Rouge where SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey testified before a packed courtroom. Concurrently, conference presidents and chancellors passed severe new penalties by a 15-0 vote—with LSU abstaining—authorizing severe sanctions for any member school rostering former professional athletes.
Those conference-approved penalties include a half-season suspension for the head coach, a fine equal to 50 percent of the sport’s operating budget, and the restriction of conference voting rights, according to sports.yahoo.com. Multiple sources indicated that league leadership also held the necessary votes to seek LSU’s expulsion from the conference if the program refused to de-escalate the standoff.
“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. A commitment to those rules, and to the core principles of the Southeastern Conference, is an essential element of SEC membership.”
Southeastern Conference, via Fox News
Lane Kiffin Explains the Decision After Season-Opening Win
Speaking after LSU’s dominant 51-10 victory over Clemson on opening weekend, Kiffin addressed the heavy criticism he faced during the two-week ordeal and explained the reasoning behind leaving Wright and Harris off the active roster.
“That wasn’t easy, as much as I feel for the players. And I believe that you fight for what you believe in. And I believe these kids have an opportunity to play, just like all the other kids around the country that are winning court cases and being put on rosters. But at the same time, I’m the head coach of LSU, and I had to make a decision that is for the big picture of LSU and the LSU football program– with the uncertainties of what potentially could have come by adding them to the roster. We couldn’t get exact reasons or… what that would mean if we added them, so with that, I made the decision which is in the best interests of the team and the university.”
Lane Kiffin, LSU Head Coach, via CBS Sports
Despite the off-field distractions, the Tigers’ ground game overwhelmed Clemson behind 309 rushing yards and four touchdowns. LSU prepares to host Louisiana Tech at Tiger Stadium for its next matchup while the broader legal fallout involving NCAA eligibility rules continues to develop across college athletics.
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