RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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BATON ROUGE ― In normal scenarios less than two weeks before the season opener, college football teams have their rosters set and the only thing being installed at that juncture is the gameplan for the opponent.
But college football is anything but normal currently and LSU football first-year head coach Lane Kiffin is just attempting to work ahead of the proverbial curve he sees taking shape.
Over the last four days, Kiffin and his staff have garnered commitments from three players who were granted a fifth year of eligibility by an East Baton Rouge Parish judge on Aug. 21 . Defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka , tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris are part of a group of 16 former student-athletes who petitioned the court for a fifth year.
All three are expected to join the team in Baton Rouge sometime soon.
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The added wrinkle with Harris and Wright is that they signed deals and spent this offseason working out with NFL teams, Wright with the Philadelphia Eagles and most recently the Cleveland Browns, and Harris with the New Orleans Saints.
A few LSU players were asked Tuesday, Aug. 25, their thoughts on new players, some with NFL experience, joining the team now and what it means for the team.
"I feel like I know just as much as y'all," LSU wide receiver Eugen Wilson III told reporters. "It's brand new to college football. So I don't really have nothing to say to it. I don't really know too much about it."
Junior cornerback PJ Woodland also doesn't have any expectations of what it'll be like getting the trio in.
"I'm not really worried about it too much. But if if helps us, it helps us," Woodland said.
Kiffin said Monday his program is always looking for ways to improve. In this instance, a judge ruled a set of former college student-athletes eligible and there's room for new guys, even this late in the preseason, who he and his staff believe can help the Tigers win.
"Our guys know. We are always in a relentless pursuit of excellence. I tell them that all the time; that's how I lived, it's how I think," Kiffin said. "We're always going to look at every avenue and try to give you the best players and the best chance to win. We're always going to be trying to get better in every area no matter what. And anytime portal acquisitions come up, that's what we're going to do."
Running back Dilin Jones said he trusts Kiffin to make the right decision for the team and, if bringing in more players at this point is it, he's OK with it.
Senior defensive end Dylan Carpenter could be directly affected by Tuihalamaka's addition. Because they play the same position, Carpenter, who has repped with the first-team defense at times during fall camp, could see his playing time diminished.
He told reporters he's not concerned about that or if the bond the current pass rushers have formed through the summer and the preseason will be affected.
"We always need more bodies," Carpenter said. "But they are going to help us push each other. We're going to make each other better and like I said, we always have great people in our room. (They're) going to make the whole team better.
"I think we already have a strong bond and these guys coming in doesn't really affect anything. We're just going to invite them with open arms and really wish the best for them. We all want to be great. We all want to be successful and they're here for the same reason. We can bring anybody in and it wouldn't really affect anything."
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected] .
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What LSU football players said about Lane Kiffin adding NFL players to Tigers
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