Ole Miss football not following Lane Kiffin’s lead in NFL player eligibility controversy

The Ole Miss football team is monitoring the situation after LSU announced it wanted to bring a former NFL player back to college, to play for the Tigers. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter is not a fan of the practice.

“We at Ole Miss, we’re going to follow SEC rules,” Carter said on College Sports on Sirius XM.

"We at Ole Miss, we're going to follow SEC rules."@KeithCarterOM talked about player eligibility and the changing landscape of college athletics with @PeterBurnsESPN & @ChrisDoering#HottyToddy | @OleMissSports | #SECThisMorning pic.twitter.com/SoObkJPtQI

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) September 1, 2026

The SEC moved to stop LSU from allowing a former NFL player to join their roster this summer. Other leagues including the Big Ten and Big 12 moved to do the same thing.

LSU hopes to get former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright on the field. Wright played under former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who now coaches at LSU.

Wright was set to join the Tigers roster after he cleared NFL waivers. He played this summer with the Cleveland Browns, but wasn’t guaranteed a long-term spot on the team.

Kiffin defended the decision to bring Wright.

“I met with our leadership committee of our players, and I asked them, ‘What do you want to do? If these players are allowed to be added to rosters, what do you want to do?’ 
And every one of them was emphatic about, if they can help us win, bring them,” Kiffin said, per 247 Sports.

The LSU plan hit a snag. Following the news that LSU would add the tight end, the SEC stepped in. SEC officials voted to disallow former NFL players from joining the teams of member schools. There is now a lawsuit pending, to get Wright eligible.

Time will tell how this situation plays out. Ole Miss opens their 2026 season on Sunday, against Louisville. LSU and Ole Miss play each other later this college football season.

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