RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — As college football navigates another unprecedented eligibility question, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian isn't convinced taking advantage of it would necessarily make his program better.
After a brief stint in the NFL, former Ole Miss tight end Dae'Quan Wright is expected to join LSU , pending he clears waivers. Wright was released by the Cleveland Browns on Monday.
Wright's potential return to college football comes after a court order allowed him and other players to pursue a fifth year of eligibility. If he joins Lane Kiffin's program, Wright would make an unprecedented jump from an NFL roster back to college football.
With college football's eligibility landscape seemingly changing by the day, Sarkisian admitted he's not sure what to make of it.
"I don't even know," Sarkisian said. "This stuff is — we are like changing every day right now. It feels like almost every three hours, there's a new message from Commissioner Sankey about something."
For Sarkisian, the bigger question isn't necessarily whether Texas could add a player in a similar situation, but whether doing so would be worth potentially disrupting a team that has spent the past eight months building chemistry.
"I like our team," Sarkisian said. "If and or when, if there's something that popped up to where we could upgrade it, great. But we don't even know. Like today, you can take them, tomorrow you can't. I don't know what's going to happen."
Sarkisian also questioned whether adding a player this close to the start of the season could do more harm than good, particularly with the chemistry Texas has built throughout the offseason.
"For us, I know we've got a locker room full of guys who have been working together and their connectivity is so good for the last eight months," Sarkisian said. "Is it worth rocking that boat by bringing somebody in that isn't familiar with your program?"
Texas recently benefited from its own unique eligibility situation when offensive lineman Cole Hutson was granted another year of eligibility. Sarkisian, however, sees a significant difference between Hutson returning to the Longhorns and bringing in a player from outside the program.
Cole Hutson remains eligible after court blocks broader fifth-year ruling
"Cole was a little different," Sarkisian said. "He'd been with our program for four years. He knows who we are. He knows Coach Flood. He knows those guys in that room."
Sarkisian took the idea a step further, questioning how a program could bring in an outsider at a major position and immediately integrate him into the team.
"To bring in a true outsider and to think, like, all of a sudden he's going to be our quarterback — I don't know how to do that," Sarkisian said. "I wouldn't know how to do that."
For now, Sarkisian said Texas will wait for more clarity before determining how it would approach similar situations in the future.
"I just think it's a delicate situation," Sarkisian said. "The powers that be are ultimately going to get to a final decision, and then when the final decision's made, then we're going to have choices to make. Or maybe we will have no choices to make."
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