Lane Kiffin is always looking for players.
In light of the injunctions won last week, granting NFL players a path back to college for a fifth season, Kiffin saw an opportunity to improve his football team for this fall.
“We have made a decision to recruit some kids around the country,” Kiffin said on Monday. “Through these multiple injunctions around the country…a group of players were granted a fifth year of eligibility in multiple sports. Through them winning their injection and entry into the portal, they’re available to recruit. So, ourselves, like many places around the country are recruiting them. At the end of the day, because of these rulings, they’re either going to play for you, or they’re going to play somewhere else around the country. We made a decision to recruit them.”
Former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka and former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright have publicly committed to LSU. Conceivably, they could take roster spots from players they would almost certainly push down the depth chart upon arrival.
Kiffin dismissed the notion that might upset the locker room.
“Our guys know we’re in relentless pursuit of excellence,” Kiffin said. “I tell them that all the time. That’s how I live. That’s how I think. That’s how I run the team. We’re always going to look at every avenue to give you the best team, to give you the best players so you have the best chance to win. We’re always going to be trying to get better in every area no matter what. Any time portal or acquisitions come up, that’s what we’re going to do.”
This ruling could open a Pandora’s Box of players flooding from NFL training camps back into the college game every August. Publicly, the reaction to this ruling has skewed heavily toward the negative. Kiffin admitted he wouldn’t want to see this path taken annually.
“I think that situations are different,” Kiffin said. “In general, should NFL players come back to college? I believe, and it doesn’t matter necessarily what I believe, that answer would be no. Every circumstance should be looked at differently. This is a very unique circumstance.”
When he took the job in Baton Rouge, Kiffin understood the expectation would be to compete for and win championships. He embraced tempo offense early in that craze and has adapted to the transfer portal era as well as any coach when it comes to talent acquisition. His concern is not with public perception, rather the job at hand.
“I believe that my job is to LSU, the LSU people that hired me and the fans.”
