Ryan Clark isn’t interested in turning Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow into a false either-or argument.
As Daniels continues to take heat over his dispute with LSU, the former Steelers safety pushed back hard on the idea that comparing the Commanders quarterback to Burrow somehow shrinks one of them. Clark, who played at LSU, said that line of thinking misses the point entirely.
“What bothers me even more is seeing former players and fans try to pit Jayden against Joe Burrow, as if one diminishes the other,” Clark said on the "Pivot" podcast Sunday. “Joe is the greatest Tiger to ever live. But what Jayden meant did in Death Valley deserves to be immortalized in Tiger lore, too.”
The debate has intensified because of the jersey fight surrounding Daniels’ No. 5.
LSU gave the number to cornerback DJ Pickett even though Daniels’ camp reportedly believed it would stay unused, and that led to a cease-and-desist letter over the school’s use of Daniels’ NIL. Burrow’s No. 9, by contrast, has remained unworn since he left for the NFL in 2020.
Clark argued that Daniels’ time at LSU deserves its own place in the program’s history. He pointed to the fact that 14 players from LSU’s 2019 championship team were drafted the following spring, with seven going in the first two rounds, but said Daniels’ two seasons still stand on their own because they included a Heisman Trophy and LSU’s two best records since that title run.
He also widened the lens to LSU’s broader jersey tradition. Billy Cannon’s No. 20 has been out of circulation since his 1958 Heisman season and was formally retired in 1959.
Four other football jerseys are retired - Tommy Casanova’s No. 37, Jerry Stovall’s 21, Charles Alexander’s No. 4 and Bert Jones’ No. 7, which will be retired this season.
LSU also has long honored players through the No. 7 and No. 18.
The school’s jersey-retirement bylaws say, “Under a provision of the LSU jersey retirement bylaws established Jan. 1, 2007, the retirement of an athlete’s jersey in a particular sport does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach.”
LSU’s most famous numbers from other sports are also protected: Pete Maravich’s No. 23, Bob Pettit’s No. 50 and Shaquille O'Neal’s No. 33 in basketball; Cannon’s number in football; and Skip Bertman’s No. 15 in baseball may never be worn again in those sports.
Clark said programs shouldn’t erase numbers from use entirely, but should still make room to honor the players who earned them.
The backlash around Daniels has spread well beyond Baton Rouge. Teams and brands in MLS, MLB, a CFL franchise and even Golf Digest have joined in with jokes at his expense. The Los Angeles Angels also put out a video that ended with a widely criticized ceremonial first pitch from KISS frontman Paul Stanley.
And according to Baton Rouge sports radio host Matt Moscona, Daniels’ representatives have asked LSU to return its copy of his Heisman Trophy. Daniels already has his own copy.
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