Count Tennessee among those schools who are opposed to players from the NFL/NBA/etc. leaving the professional ranks and returning to college.
The SEC implemented on Tuesday evening a new rule that precludes professional players from returning to play at an SEC school.
The rules are pretty clear:
1) previously declared for the NFL/NBA/WNBA Draft and did not properly withdraw;
2) signed a contract with an NFL (or other pro football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate) team; or
3) have been listed on the roster of any team listed in item 2.
Per ESPN insider Pete Thamel, the vote was 16-0, meaning Tennessee signed off on the rule.
The penalties for any violations? Well, pretty severe.
It’s clear from Tuesday where Danny White stood on the matter, so it’s completely unsurprising that Tennessee would be quickly in favor of the move. White criticized players returning from the NFL while acknowledging and calling out the NCAA for maintaining a one-game suspension on Arion Carter.
Perhaps more surprisingly, LSU, who’s received commitments from former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, also voted with the rest of the conference. Wright was waived by the Browns over the weekend, and Harris was waived by the Saints earlier this month. Wright and a number of other former college players secured an injunction against the NCAA to play a fifth year, but that was before the conference stepped up and took rare action themselves (albeit 100% the right move on their part).
We’ll see how things go when these players almost certainly turn their fight now towards the SEC, but the conference clearly made the right call on Tuesday.
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* [Tennessee Volunteer Football](/tennessee_volunteer_football)