BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — After a stop in the NFL, former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright could be heading to LSU thanks to a court order that is creating havoc throughout college sports by allowing Wright and others an unexpected fifth year of eligibility.
Wright's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told The Associated Press on Monday that the tight end had been waived by the Cleveland Browns and if he clears waivers, he will join Lane Kiffin's roster at No. 11 LSU.
If he joins the Tigers, Wright is believed to be the first player to return to college after playing in the NFL. He may not be the last.
At a news conference Monday, Kiffin declined to discuss any specific players, but did say of the players in the lawsuit: “They’re available to recruit. So, ourselves, like many places around the country, are recruiting them.”
Not doing so, Kiffin said, could lead to a situation where "we may end up playing against them.”
Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted rookie after the draft. After Philly released him Aug. 11, the Browns signed him. Wright didn’t play in Cleveland’s two preseason games. Wright played two seasons for Kiffin at Ole Miss. Last year, he caught 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns for the Rebels.
Wright was among a group of players who sued in a Louisiana court, saying a new NCAA rule granting five years of eligibility to most athletes should apply to him and others who were not “grandfathered” into the rule, which did not include those who graduated high school in 2022.
The judge in Louisiana allowed for the fifth year and also ordered the football transfer portal, normally open only in January, to reopen for a week for the players in the lawsuit.
“In my opinion, knowing the information, it’s really wrong to be critical of these kids,” said Kiffin, whose move from Ole Miss to LSU last season also created tension between the SEC schools. "They were granted a fifth year by a judge, saying they were wronged by the NCAA. … It’s simply that a judge decided they should have a fifth year, like everyone moving forward will have.”
Kiffin suggested that the current recruiting by colleges of NFL rookies is a “totally unique circumstance that came about because of the five for five (ruling), and players feeling like they should have known about it before, and because of all the cases around the country. I don’t think we’ll have this (situation) again.”
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Maaddi contributed from Tampa, Fla.
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