Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was stunned when the transfer portal became a recruiting reality, but he could hardly believe his ears when told power-conference teams were bringing back NFL players who didn’t make the cut in training camp.
One of those teams, LSU, is the first team on Clemson’s schedule this week. Swinney got a close look at tight end Dae’Quan Wright when he observed Browns practice two months ago, and there’s a chance he’ll be in uniform for LSU on Saturday along with defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka. They are practicing with LSU while a legal tug of war plays out involving Class of 2022 recruits coming back for more college football.
“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Swinney said. “Honestly, it’s embarrassing that’s where we are. I don’t blame the kids, but people trying to take advantage of the system. It’s embarrassing, but we’ve been there for a while.”
Swinney joked he might be in trouble for tampering because he attended Browns workouts in June. Wright (formerly of Ole Miss) was in camp with the Browns before being released in August. Whether he can play this weekend, along with Tuihalamaka (Notre Dame), is expected to be decided in a Louisiana courtroom on Thursday.
Reports indicate coaches in major conferences have considered not playing games when opponents plan to utilize former pros on their roster.
In the court case scheduled for Thursday, it is incumbent on the SEC, NCAA and potentially other conferences to convince the judge why the SEC should be allowed to introduce rules to limit pros from coming back. LSU coach Lane Kiffin said he will follow the ruling and not break any confirmed SEC or NCAA rule that would block Wright and Tuihalamaka from playing.
“I don’t make decisions on what benefits me personally and what it does to my reputation or how people outside of here view me,” he said.
Kiffin said his player leadership was fully in support of bringing in the two former NFL camp bodies for the 2026 season, even when it meant a reduced role or playing time for some of them.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he can’t understand why any coach would view this approach as acceptable.
“The fact that somebody out there is going to take a player off of an NFL roster and tell somebody who’s been doing it for nine months to go kick rocks, that doesn’t sit well with me,” Sarkisian said. ‘I think that’s wrong. That, morally, is wrong.”
Ahead of the marquee Clemson-LSU clash, Swinney appeared to take the opportunity to needle Kiffin.
“That outside stuff, we just kind of — no pun intended — we just stay in our lane here at Clemson,” he said.
