LSU made waves earlier this offseason chasing down NFL cuts from other college programs looking to add proven pieces through the eligibility loophole.
Now that strategy is circling back home.
One of the names reportedly on Kiffin’s radar is a familiar one is Jack Pyburn, the same edge rusher who spent his college career wearing purple and gold before trying his hand in the NFL.
Pyburn signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie and spent all of training camp trying to lock down a roster spot.
That chapter looks like it’s wrapping up fast, and it could send him right back to the program that developed him.
Tampa Bay waived Pyburn Sunday morning despite a strong exhibition showing.
His preseason numbers stacked up fast, with double-digit tackles, four sacks and four quarterback hits to go along with five stops behind the line.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles pointed to that production as the reason cutting him was such a tough call at a deep position group.
He isn’t fully in the clear yet either way.
Pyburn has to pass through waivers before any other team can claim him, and only after that does a path back to college football open up.
Why the NCAA rule change matters here
None of this is possible without a legal fight playing out this summer.
A new NCAA policy known as 5-for-5 left out a group of seniors who signed back in 2022 and still had eligibility remaining, and that gap led straight to lawsuits.
Pyburn is caught up in that fight along with 15 other Louisiana players, all holding a temporary restraining order while they wait on a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for Sept. 3.
This is where the Tigers’ aggressive approach really shows. Kiffin has been willing to target players who qualify for immediate eligibility rather than wait out a normal offseason cycle.
The LSU edge room is turning into a clear example of how far that strategy can stretch, even pulling back a player LSU already developed once.
Nobody should assume the legal fighting stops here either. With several overlapping cases and a rule still being challenged in court there’s a real chance more filings surface before the season is even underway.
What LSU’s depth chart looks like right now
The Tigers already have plenty of bodies at edge without Pyburn in the fold.
Princewill Umanmielen leads the group and looks like the closest thing LSU has had to a true difference-maker at the position in recent years.
The battle for the spot opposite him has turned into one of the more interesting storylines of fall camp.
Jordan Ross came into camp as the presumed favorite but lost practice time along the way, which gave Dylan Carpenter and Lamar Brown a real chance to climb the depth chart.
Both have taken advantage and the competition for reps next to Umanmielen still looks unsettled heading into the opener.
A second player could join Pyburn on the roster
There’s another name tangled up in the same legal process. Junior Tuihalamaka has been training in Baton Rouge and ramping up toward game readiness as his case works through court.
If the injunction comes through Thursday he could officially join the roster Friday and be in position to play right away.
Depth improved on its own recently too.
Damien Shanklin missed a good chunk of fall camp but has shared workout footage showing he’s training again, and a source close to the program confirmed he’s back with the group.
It’s still not clear if he’ll be ready for real snaps in week one but it’s another option the coaching staff can lean on.
Pyburn brings something different from the rest of the group since he already spent years learning Blake Baker’s scheme before heading to the NFL.
He’s talked openly about what he took from a difficult start to his pro career.
“I didn’t perform how I wanted to perform. Part of that is a mental side of the game that I didn’t fully tap into in a confidence aspect,” Pyburn said. “When I sat on my couch on the day of the draft and I didn’t get drafted, I had to look at myself in the mirror.
“Who do I want to be? Do I want to say ‘why me, why me,’ or do I want to say ‘why not me?’ In that moment I chose why not me and I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever worked in my life to be where I’m at and I’m going to continue to work even harder.”
The bigger picture heading into Clemson week
LSU is deep into preparing for Clemson and the staff likely has a plan mapped out for how the rotation looks no matter how the legal situations resolve.
Kiffin has built a reputation for squeezing extra value out of a roster whenever the chance shows up and this entire situation fits that pattern perfectly.
If Pyburn clears waivers he’d slot in as someone ready to contribute immediately given his familiarity with the scheme.
Add a possible Tuihalamaka debut to the mix and LSU could be adding real reinforcements at edge just as the regular season begins.
