Yes, college football players are already professionals

In 1975, Walter Payton ran roughshod against the Steelers in the annual game that pitted a college all-star team against the defending NFL champions. A half-century later, the prospect of any player who ever wore an NFL helmet competing against college players has prompted widespread pearl clutching.

It's a weak position. The players who want to return to LSU (and Indiana) aren't hoping to don raccoon coats and chant "boola boola." They simply want to make more money than they'd make on a practice squad.