A Louisiana judge just told the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference that ex-NFL players can suit up for LSU this season.
Story Snapshot
- East Baton Rouge Parish Judge William Jorden granted a preliminary injunction Thursday night, September 3, 2026, blocking NCAA and SEC enforcement against schools rostering the named athletes.
- The timing hit just hours before LSU’s deadline to submit its 105-man roster to the SEC, giving coach Lane Kiffin real room to add players.
- Tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris are the two central names tied to LSU’s roster plans.
- The SEC had already passed a rule banning players who signed pro contracts from returning, setting up a direct clash with the court order.
What The Judge Actually Decided
Judge Jorden issued his ruling in Baton Rouge on a Thursday night, right as LSU raced against a roster submission clock. Associated Press reported the injunction “clears the way for LSU to list some former NFL players on its roster”. The order builds on an earlier temporary restraining order Jorden granted weeks before, extending protection to a larger group of athletes fighting for a fifth season of college eligibility.
The case centers on the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model, which grants five seasons of competition but left out the freshman class of 2022. Dozens of players who exhausted four years under old rules sued, arguing the exclusion was unfair. Jorden agreed there was enough legal merit to block enforcement while the fight continues in court.
The SEC Drew A Hard Line First
Before the ruling, the SEC’s presidents and chancellors met and announced a blunt policy. Schools could not roster athletes who signed pro contracts or appeared on any professional team’s roster, following the Big Ten’s lead. The conference put it plainly: college athletes, not former professional athletes, have earned the right to compete in college sports, according to a statement issued by SEC leadership.
Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman, who chairs the SEC’s executive committee, told reporters the conference “will not budge” on the rule barring NFL players from returning to college. That stance set the SEC on a collision course with a Louisiana courtroom, and for now, the courtroom won. The SEC has signaled it will comply with the order while it appeals, according to reporting on the conference’s response to the injunction.
A Legal Loophole With National Stakes
This fight is not isolated to Baton Rouge. More than 70 similar cases have been filed nationwide since 2024, and one tracker counts over 150 athletes involved in 18 eligibility lawsuits across 15 states, with judges siding with players in 11 of them. Courts have become the real rulemaking body for college sports eligibility, not the NCAA’s own committees.
That pattern cuts both ways for anyone who values stable rules over ad hoc judicial fixes. A federal appeals court already reversed a similar injunction out of West Virginia, and the Tenth Circuit stayed another eligibility order entirely. The NCAA has won some rounds on appeal, which means Louisiana’s ruling is far from the final word, and LSU’s roster gains could still evaporate.
Could athletes like @PaytnMonticelli get another year? Two LSU softball players are among the athletes a Louisiana judge cleared to play another season. The order blocks the NCAA and SEC from punishing schools that roster them for 2026-2027 🥎🐅 https://t.co/HjTNBqZLQn
— Softball Portal (@SoftballPortal) September 4, 2026
Kiffin himself admitted he “struggled” with the decision to keep pursuing former NFL rookies even as the SEC pushed back, but said his current players told him to “bring ’em.” That is a coach chasing a competitive edge inside a legal gray zone his own conference explicitly warned against. Common sense says amateur college rosters and NFL rosters should stay separate, and letting judges blur that line case by case invites chaos for every program trying to plan a season.
The SEC has already filed its own lawsuit against LSU and Kiffin, accusing the school of a coordinated campaign to recruit players who signed with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Georgia’s attorney general has even urged the SEC to suspend or expel LSU if the school moves forward. This is no longer just about two players. It is a test of whether conferences can enforce their own rules once a single state judge disagrees.
Sources:
washingtonpost.com, pannellsportsgroup.com, espn.com, sports.yahoo.com
