With a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled Thursday, two days before Lane Kiffin’s LSU debut against Clemson, the SEC told plaintiffs’ attorneys it will comply with a Louisiana court order that blocks enforcement of the league’s ban on former professional players, opening a route for Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to join the Tigers.

Kiffin laid out his approach Monday while LSU pursues players who won additional eligibility in court.

“That’s how I live. It’s how I run the team. And that we’re always going to look at every avenue to give you the best team, to give you the best players, so that you have the best chance to win,” Kiffin said.

Wright, a former Ole Miss tight end, agreed to an undrafted free-agent deal with the Cleveland Browns this summer. Harris, a former Ole Miss defensive tackle, signed with the Saints before the team waived him. Both plan to sign with LSU.

A Louisiana judge earlier this month gave Wright and other players another year of eligibility in a temporary restraining order that barred the NCAA from enforcing its standards against them. The power conferences then adopted policies barring former professional athletes from returning to college.

The SEC’s policy also restricts players from moving between conference schools outside the transfer portal window. Wright and Harris would not violate the former-pro-player rule merely by signing with LSU. They would cross that line if LSU puts them on its final roster, which is set Friday — one day before the Sept. 5 opener against Clemson.

The potential punishment includes a half-season suspension for the head coach, a fine worth 50% of the athletic department’s budget and loss of conference voting privileges. But a Baton Rouge judge on Friday added the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey as defendants and barred the league from enforcing sanctions against LSU, its coaches or its athletes.

The judge will hear arguments Thursday in Baton Rouge on a preliminary injunction that could keep the protection in place until trial. LSU has not said whether Wright and Harris will make Friday’s final roster.

The dispute follows the NCAA’s eligibility rule adopted this summer, which grants athletes five seasons rather than four but did not make an exception for players who exhausted eligibility under the old rule this spring. More than 300 athletes have filed 60-plus lawsuits seeking another season.

Texas has Cole Hutson, who attended minicamps with two NFL teams, won a state injunction and is practicing with the Longhorns. Kentucky expects to sign former Missouri player Mark Mitchell, who played in NBA summer league games.

For LSU, the decision now is whether Wright and Harris are on the roster when Kiffin coaches his first game Saturday.