What’s next for Lane Kiffin and LSU with the NEWLY ELIGIBLE “NFL” Players?

Uh, and fall camp is the media availabilities, uh, segment, uh, is wrapping up this week as a LSU back on the practice field today and tomorrow, uh, with some press conferences as well. And we're joined by Glen West over at one three covering LSU Glen. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Not much to talk about today. I'd say that that's going to be my first question. Is there ever, ever a break at covering this program? No, there's not. And I think that's what makes it one of the more fun, uh, just overall programs to cover certainly from not only just the football, but also basketball and baseball perspective. It really is a year round, uh, kind of deal. So, uh, even, yeah, what, 16 days before kickoff, we're talking about potentially adding new players to the roster. So, uh, potentially adding professional players to the roster. So there's, uh, there's a lot, a lot to, a lot to unwind here. For those that are watching or listening that aren't fully informed on all that transpired last night, yesterday with this ruling, uh, that came down in a Louisiana court and what it means. Can you explain to them kind of what happened and what it means for, for college athletics and college football, especially with that starting right around the corner? Yeah. So essentially yesterday, uh, a judge here in Louisiana granted 16 players, uh, including former LSU pass rusher, Jack Pibern, uh, temporary restraining order, which essentially, uh, falls in line with kind of the injunction that was filed or an injunction that was granted a few weeks ago in a Colorado court, uh, that said that all of the 2022 class, uh, of players could be eligible for a fifth season. And so, uh, essentially without, you know, I guess cutting off its head without getting too nitty gritty here, uh, if LSU were to play a game tomorrow and Jack Pibern were wanting to come to play at LSU again, he could potentially play in that game tomorrow. Uh, if that was, uh, based off of the ruling from yesterday. Now there's a whole bunch of other stuff that has to happen before then. Uh, you know, I think a big reason why maybe you're seeing just some of the entry level stuff happen right now. Um, you know, you're, you're, you're seeing these, uh, these things get approved and these, uh, you know, these temporary restraining order get approved. So players can try to enter the transfer portal. Um, and then from that point on, you know, programs will assess whether or not, uh, they can enter the transfer portal and then what, who they want from the transfer portal off of these new, uh, these new pool of players that have seemingly become available here the last couple of weeks. So, um, you know, there's still a lot to unpack here because, you know, right now the NCAA is right in the middle of its appeals process for that ruling in Colorado, uh, that has granted that fifth year. And so, uh, if the NCAA were to win that appeal, then all of this is just a, a couple of weeks just mess where, you know, all of these players go back to being ineligible. Uh, but if the NCAA loses that appeal, then things become very interesting here, uh, in regards to LSU and potentially adding some more pieces to the puzzle here, uh, right before the start of the season. And so you bring up Jack Pieburn and of course, some of the other players that are now eligible right now. Uh, what is the likelihood to you just from your standpoint of LSU, uh, bringing back Pieburn and maybe even a couple other guys that now are eligible and in the transfer portal? Yeah, I think it's a very interesting question because I think there's still so many layers that are unknown to this, right? I mean, this just came down yesterday, so we haven't even heard what the, uh, what the NFL is going to do in terms of a response to this. Like I, I have a feeling, like, I don't know this for sure. I have a feeling there are a lot of owners and a lot of front office people in the NFL that don't want this to happen. Um, and you know, the NFL is what rules all at the end of the day and, you know, they could really come out with a very harsh, uh, you know, group, uh, with a harsh statement and there are a harsh group of penalties that could be imposed on some of these players if they decide, uh, you know, if they get cut from an NFL roster that they want to go back to college, you know, there could be a, a process of getting back to the NFL, for example, but like the, I, I, that's the one angle to me that's really, really interesting here. It's just kind of how the NFL responds here over the next couple of days. Um, but you know, in regards to just Pyburn, I mean, he, he was playing pretty well for Tampa this last weekend, I think a couple of sacks. And so, you know, these guys are not only just playing for their own team, but they're playing for 31 other teams in the preseason as well. Uh, so who's to say that if Pyburn doesn't continue to show out that there's maybe not another team that could give him an opportunity. And so, uh, and then if he is cut, what if Tampa wants him back on the practice squad and, uh, you know, could that be another way, you know, cause you know, injuries do happen in the NFL. What if, you know, somebody were to go down and they could promote him to the 53 man roster at that point. Like, so there's, there's still a lot of ways in which this could get dicey and not happen. But I think just from an on paper perspective, there's no doubt that Jack Pyburn makes your team better this year. If you're LSU, it's a four-year experienced guy. Uh, he has a lot of talent, um, and a lot of experience playing in this conference. And, you know, if you look around that edge room right now, you've got Prince Melo Uman Mielen, who's the most experienced and probably the most talented pass rusher, uh, one of the most talented in the conference. But, um, you know, you've got a lot of unproven guys on the opposite side of him, you know, Jordan Ross is a former five-star, but hasn't really shown it yet at the college level. Um, you know, Dylan Carpenter is a three-year, four-year player now, um, has not really had a whole ton of opportunities, but it looks like he's making the most of it here in the fall. Uh, and then, you know, Lamar Brown is a true freshman who's never played before and just got on campus in the summer. So it makes sense as to why LSU would want to explore that option. Um, but there's still a ton of hurdles that they have to, uh, you know, get cleared here all the while they're still preparing for Clemson here in two weeks, which is another crazy just thing to think about. And this kind of reminds me a little bit of, correct me if I'm wrong, but like, do you remember like the Byrd rights where in the NBA, whatever they signed, the Celtics drafted Larry Byrd and he went back to college. Like he didn't sign technically with the Celtics, but he was drafted and they retained his rights. It feels like that's what maybe the model might be for the NFL to be like, look, we have Jack Pyburn's rights to be able to keep him on our team, but he can go and do whatever he wants in the interim of if he gets paid. This is where the law comes in where it's like, if you are offered a better deal, that's where NIL and college football has made massive waves of, look, I can't stop you from making more money. If somebody values your talents differently, he sounded what undrafted free agent deal for $150,000 if LSU could and will pay more than that. You really can't stop him if you want to hold on to his rights. Yeah, absolutely. Like, and, you know, I think that kind of brings in maybe a baseball aspect of this too. Like, you know, does the NFL say, okay, if you really want to go back to college, we'll let you do that. Let you grow and continue to develop there. Get some playing time, you know, in the SEC. And then, yeah, a year from now, we'll call you up to the, to the, to the, to the big leagues, to the big club. And so, uh, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's ridiculous. It's crazy that we're here. It's a really just mind bending thing that, you know, has been thrown into the mix here just so shortly before, uh, the start of the regular season. But, um, you know, I, like I said, I would not rule anything out at this point. Like I just, there's a whole bunch of processes that have to, uh, you know, take place. And the very first and foremost is whether or not the NCAA wins its appeal, because if it wins its appeal, then all these players, again, are just ineligible. And then you're, do you start from scratch? Like, where do you go from there? But if they lose, then all these guys are eligible. And then it does put all these, uh, you know, potential additions back on the table. So, uh, I just, it's so, it's, it's, it's really, really going to be an interesting next, you know, week or two in terms of just how all this plays out and, you know, before the start of the season. Would you foresee this potentially causing any, you know, I know this is maybe the past. It's not really something that you talk about as much anymore, but like locker room issues. I know there are so many new guys and new players on teams now, and there's so much change, but I mean, bringing guys in and the 11th hour with two weeks until game number one, uh, to potentially play key roles on a team. Like, do you think that it could cause, uh, any, any sort of issues? I don't think so. If we're talking just in Pyburn's case, because I, I mean, you guys were there. We talked about her a lot last year. He's just a really good dude. And like, just, I think would come right back in and fit right back into the equation here. He wouldn't be a locker room problem or anything of that nature. Um, I think he'd have a lot of wisdom to maybe pass down on some of the younger players as well, um, about going through the NFL draft process about, you know, doing all these different things in terms of preparing for your professional career. So I think it would be a great move if LSU could get it over the finish line, uh, because I think he'd also help your team this year, but also be a good locker room guy for you. Um, and you know, he's already has a year of experience in the system as well. So that's another angle that can't be overlooked. You know, I think it's one thing if you were to bring in an outside player that doesn't have any familiarity with your program or your system or anything like that, but that wouldn't be the case with Pyburn. So I think it would be a really smart move, a really good move, but it's just, there's a lot of balls up in the air right now in terms of how viable or how likely that this ultimately becomes. Uh, and from LSU standpoint, what you've seen now through, uh, fall camp, where we've had a handful of weeks getting to watch this team go out there and practice under Lane Kiffin, Charlie Weiss, Blake Baker, and that staff. What are some of the things that have stood out to you so far through the first couple of weeks of fall camp? Yeah, I would say probably for me, just, just getting a good look at Levitt finally healthy, you know, a hundred percent healthy and moving through the fall with no limitations and stuff like that. Like, I think he's looked really solid so far. Um, you know, you can tell he's been putting in a lot of work with these receivers and the, uh, during the summer. And yeah, I think he has a great connection with Trey Esprit. I think Eugene Wilson, uh, has been another really, uh, big time. Uh, you know, he's, he's upped his game from the spring. I think Jace Brown has upped his game from the spring. Uh, you know, Winston Watkins, I think will factor in their receiver as well. Um, so, you know, I think they have an allotment of receivers and pass catching options that they feel comfortable with, but, um, you know, I think probably one of the more surprising things has been on the defensive side of the ball and just how much, uh, you know, from, from the safety position with, you know, the competition that's going on there right now with Jace Thomas and to Marcus Cooley, uh, you know, it's upfront on the defensive line where you could potentially have, you know, three true freshmen playing very meaningful snaps for you, week one against Clemson like that, uh, is another thing that has been really, really interesting to watch and just kind of how they've been rotating on the defensive line. Um, and you've got to, the biggest thing from here on out for me, it's just that you got to stay healthy. Like there's a couple of guys who have been nicked and bruised up here a little bit over the last couple of, couple of days. And it doesn't sound like it's anything long-term with any of them. You know, we just, we saw Harlan Berry out there yesterday, uh, you know, doing, doing some work off to the side and from a conditioning perspective. But, uh, you know, just, I think at this point you just want to make sure everybody gets to the start of the season as healthy as possible. And, um, you know, there's still a few weeks left for, for, for all that to happen. So, uh, but I, I've been really impressed overall. I think that they handle it, they handle these, uh, practices extremely well. And, um, you know, I think that they'll be ready for week one here against Clemson. And while that take maybe would have been like the great answer 24 hours ago or 12 hours ago or eight hours ago, do you not, I wonder what your perspective is on LSU now looking at positions of professional athletes that they're trying to fill some of these gaps with? Like, does that not, if you had to pick positions, would it not be some of the things it's like having three freshmen play the defensive line? Like that's why LSU is probably exploring this opportunity is because look, we've painted LSU. And I think we've all been a little gun shy on going, oh, they're going to be 10 and two, a playoff team. Cause we've done that the last three years and have been incorrect. And now it's like, oh, well you look at it. It's like, what if these freshmen develop and they are five stars and all of these things. But I think everybody's been not so fast to go LSU playoff team. And this is kind of painting as to why, when you look at what they're trying to do and add an edge rusher added, maybe a defensive tackle at a corner out of safety. It's like, they know that there are spots in a very finite timeline of this might be the only opportunity you get to do this. Feels like LSU was definitely exploring those possibilities. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, they've gone all in on this season. Like, I mean, whatever Lane Kiffin has asked for here in this first year, he's gotten. And so if there is a player or two that LSU really feels like would make their team dramatically better here in 2026 with this new kind of crop of players that have seemingly become eligible here, at least in the short term, then they're going to explore all those opportunities. Like, I mean, the edge rusher for sure is one with Pibern. But, you know, does LSU feel like there's a corner cornerback out there to help them with some depth? Does they feel like there's, you know, to your point, Lloyd, a defensive tackle that would make some sense coming back into the, coming back to the program and getting into the books there? You know, there's there's there's a lot of there's a lot of veteran talent out there. And, you know, I think the other part of this, too, is, you know, Kiffin last week said, essentially, if this injunction holds in this Colorado injunction holds, players should be able to go anywhere that they want and not just back to the school that they play for. And part of that restraining order from yesterday also included three Ole Miss players and a couple of really talented Ole Miss players from last year's team. I don't want to speculate or anything like that. I don't know that LSU has made contact with those players or done a whole ton of recruiting them to the program at this point. But I do feel like that those are guys that would make some sense in terms of bringing them into the fold here. So it'll be very interesting to watch how all this plays out. Does it change your opinion at all of what you thought about the team if they're trying to look and fill voids? Or is it just trying to add like more maybe like ice cream to the dessert, if you will? Yeah, I don't think you can ever have too much talent on the team. And so I don't think it's like a situation where they feel like, oh, man, we desperately need another pass rusher. And I think that they could survive with what they have. I mean, I've always looked at this as a really, really talented team. It's just, you know, what was the development process going to look like in the offseason? And then, of course, how we're all the pieces going to gel together once the season started. And we still don't know that answer. I mean, just from talking with people in the program, it sounds like they're really excited about these two freshmen. But there's also some growing pains that they're also going through right now as well. So we'll have to wait and see, obviously, what that looks like once the Clemson game arrives. But I do think that there's a way for you to add talent to this already really talented team. You explore every possibility. And this is a new possibility. This is a new venture that LSU could go down. And like I said, the next week is going to be really, really interesting to see how all this unfolds. No, I completely agree. Sean Watson lining up the quarterback for Clemson. Oh, my gosh. The unbelievable. I'll ask you from a confidence standpoint, how much would you say, like, are you more confident in this LSU team than you were, of course, going into fall camp? Like what your expectations were and question marks were going into fall camp, of course, starting with Sam Levin, everything else, and then where it stands right now after everything you've seen. What is your confidence level at in this Lane Kiffin football team? I would say I'm a little more confident in the offense in particular, just off of what we've heard and what we've seen. I think one of the bigger ball camp takeaways to this point has been how bullish it seems that Lane Kiffin and people in the program are in the run game aspect of this team. I think that was something that really stood out to me last week when Kiffin was asked, not just from a running back perspective, but offensive line up front seems to be doing a really good job of run blocking. Levin obviously throws another wrinkle into that with his mobility. And so a big part of this Kiffin offense is being able to run the ball efficiently and create explosive plays off of the run, which in turn helps set up the pass. I do think that they feel good about that aspect of things, which is really good to hear at this point in the season or at this point in the offseason. They feel like they have a good grasp of that. I would say I'm probably where I was going into fall camp right now. I still see this as a 9-3 team, potentially 10-2 team. They're going to be right on that cusp of the playoff if they all hit their ceiling. And I think that's a pretty good start here. If you're 9-3, 10-2, you've beaten some really good teams, you've competed probably really well, and you're right there in the mix there for potentially being a playoff team come November. So I think that this team has immense potential, a lot of talent, and it's just going to be about how that all gels and meshes together, which we just really won't know until we get to that week one game against Clemson and really the first month of September. Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, if we leave those three games and don't have a really good idea about what this team is, then we're not doing our jobs. I feel like a month into the season, we should have a pretty good understanding of what the strengths are of this team, maybe where some of the weaknesses are, and just kind of how they're handling some of these really, really tough and difficult opponents. Yeah, no, I completely agree. We have a question from the chat. Does LSU have room to add more players? I would assume there's obviously the roster limit. Does LSU have the ability to add guys in this new crop of free agency? I think you make it work. I don't know the exact number of roster spots that LSU has right now. I haven't gone back and looked at that yet. But I think if you're talking about bringing in an impact player at this late stage, you make it work. Make it work can mean a lot of things, whether it's cutting another player or something like that. But I think if there's a player out there that you feel like can make your team better and you can get him eligible and get him into this program here sooner than later, you absolutely go do that. So I don't know exactly how many open roster spots there are. I know I've seen one report. I think it was Matt over at 104.5 ESPN said that LSU has one spot. I haven't gotten that confirmed, but obviously Matt's as plugged in as anybody. So I'll roll with him on that. But I think that there's a lot of wiggle room here if you feel like there's more than one player that you want to go add to try to make that happen. Well, I would also go one step further and go, who's going to tell you no? Why are there roster limitations if people feel like they can get paid to do a job? It's really not up to somebody to say that you can only have so many spots if you're willing to get paid to do it and somebody's willing to pay you for it. I think I think there's a 105 limit. I mean, but why? Yeah, that's that's an NCAA thing. I don't know how you're talking about. Can the NCAA enforce its own roster limits? I don't know. They haven't been able to enforce much this year. So maybe you're on to something there, Lloyd. Well, I just love to look through all the nooks and crannies. Yeah, I'll turn the page to another sport, but similar situation. There was also news the other day on the timeline for R.J. Luis in that situation and his hearing, which will be next Monday. What are your thoughts on where that stands and kind of your expectations for what's going to play out for LSU and Luis? Yeah, I read about it yesterday on our site. You know, I did some digging around and, you know, next week is we have a pretty good idea, I think, of how next week is going to go. Like, I would be pretty shocked if Luis didn't get his injunction here. Get this judge if you don't. I'd do it again. What's that? Get this judge if you don't, because whatever. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, in the same district, too. It's the same court. Like, I think it was the 19th or something like that. They're both in the same district. So, yeah, I think Luis will get eligible next week. And then there's the appeal process from the NCAA that will happen. And then that's where this could go either way, right? The NCAA won its appeals process with Charles Pediaco back in January. And so a judge in Alabama even dismissed that case and said, yes, the NCAA is right. You should not be going back to school here. And so it could very well rule in the NCAA's favor again. But I do think that there are a couple of new pieces of information here, especially here recently, that could help LSU's case. Obviously, most important is this five and five deal where Luis was a part of that 2022 recruiting class. He's eligible to play under the current injunction and the current restraining order. So I think he's certainly going to use that as part of his case next week. I think he's going to use the fact that, yes, he signed an NBA contract, but he never actually played in a G League or an NBA game. And so that was something that Pediaco did do. So I think that there's some ways in which this can get over the finish line. But I do think that my belief has been for most of the off season that this would be a tough hurdle for LSU to climb. But I do think that maybe there are some ways that they can get this over the finish line. And obviously, next week is just a starting point, because I do think that there will be an appeals process. But I think Luis, right now at least, the LSU side feels pretty confident that he'll be a part of the team next year. And with the rest of the roster of the international players, is there any concern on their eligibility not happening? I don't think so. We're talking about here Salyun Yang. We're talking about Bryce Tisere and Michael Ruzic. I think Marcio Santos, too, is in that mix. So I don't believe so. Not that I've heard, at least. I think most of those guys have pretty strong cases. And it's not only just the eligibility thing. It's also on the academic side, making sure that all that stuff figured out, too, which can take a while. But just asking around the program, it sounds like sometime next week or right around Labor Day is when we should officially start to hear some more announcements. Right now, LSU's only announced four. So they technically only have four guys on the roster right now. They have more than that. But I think we'll start to see some announcements here, either next week or right around that Labor Day. So it'll be a busy Clemson week. Let's just put it that way. Not only just on the football front, but potentially on the basketball front as well. It is. There's not going to be much. There hasn't been much of a break. And there probably won't be for you coming soon, with football around the corner and all that's going to transpire. So we appreciate you make some time for us always. And we'll see you out on the practice field and talk again soon. Yeah. See you guys out there in about an hour, I guess. There you go. Appreciate you.