Thanks to a ruling on Friday by a judge in Louisiana, the SEC will not be allowed to punish programs that play former NFL players who either appeared in training camp this summer or played in preseason games.

That means there’s a chance we’ll see some former NFL players on the field when SEC teams take the field on September 5 for season openers across the conference.

LSU, specifically, is planning to add a couple of former NFL players to its roster before the start of the season.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gets asked about NFL players returning to college

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel appeared on The Jim Rome Show on Friday and he was asked directly if he thinks NFL players should be allowed to return to college.

Heupel, perhaps to the surprise of no one, went full Switzerland with his answer and kept things neutral.

“It’s a completely different landscape [with] everything that’s going on on the personnel side of it inside of college football than it was even five years ago,” said Heupel. “From NIL to the transfer portal to the current landscape of are NFL guys going to be allowed to come back or not? Ultimately, I’m not in charge of those things. It’s a unique set of circumstances that has led us to even having this conversation here a week before the regular season kicks off.”

Rome then asked Heupel if he thinks the SEC will have the final say or if the courts will win out (and allow former NFL players to play in college in 2026).

“I have no idea,” said Heupel. “History would tell you here recently that the courts have kind of dictated what’s gone on. I can’t tell you where that thing’s going to land, though.”

Tennessee has two players from the 2022 high school class who could be in position to return — defensive linemen Jaxson Moi and Tyre West.

Moi has been in training camp with the Los Angeles Rams, while West was selected by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Neither player is expected to make a 53-man roster to start the season, though it’s possible that West could land on a practice squad.

To this point, there’s been no talk of either player returning to Tennessee. And Heupel’s coach-speaky comments to Rome didn’t offer a hint as to whether Tennessee would welcome either player back.