Former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright is at the center of a storm of controversy.
Wright, along with two other ex-Rebels, is one of the beneficiaries of a recent temporary restraining order that would allow him to play in college this season.
The problem is that on Saturday, Wright was wearing a Cleveland Browns uniform and standing on the sideline for the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
So, first-year Cleveland coach Todd Monken had a rookie on his sideline (but didn’t play in the game) who had also entered the transfer portal.
“Man, isn’t this shit crazy?” Monken told reporters after Saturday’s loss to the Bills. “I don’t even know what to say. As far as I know, he’s had a medical issue that wasn’t allowing him to practice. That’s a medical issue. It has nothing to do with me. He was cleared, so we dressed him just in case we had to have him.”
Having a rookie on dressed out but who is also halfway through the door to return to college football is a new experience for everyone. What isn’t new, especially for Ole Miss fans, is one of the names Monken mentioned.
“I don’t know what to say. I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out to me a week ago, now I know,” Monken said. “I didn’t call him back; I guess I should have.”
That’s arguably the clearest sign that Wright could be transferring to LSU two weeks before the start of the season. Why else would Kiffin be reaching out to an NFL head coach in the middle of training camp? It’s unlikely to be about exchanging hot yoga tips.
As has been the case with nearly every Ole Miss player from last year’s team, LSU was one of the first teams fans and media pointed to as a potential transfer destination for Wright. The Tigers have preseason All-American tight end Trey’Dez Green on its roster but not much depth behind him. There’s also speculation that Ole Miss may not want him back.
There’s the need. Wright is also familiar with the offense since it’s what Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Wies Jr. ran in Oxford with Wright. It makes a lot of sense, but there’s one problem.
The SEC, not the NCAA, has a rule in place preventing players from transferring from one SEC school to another outside of the regular transfer portal window. That rule makes it so Wright could only play for Ole Miss, if he wanted to play in the SEC.
Of course, that rule is likely the next target of litigation that’ll be filed to clear the path for Wright to transfer to LSU. So, we’ll wait to see how long the rule stands.
One thig we do know is that Monken was right. This shit is crazy.
