The jersey fight involving Jayden Daniels and LSU traces back to a recruiting promise made nearly two years ago, and the player at the center of it is D.J. Pickett.
According to LSU coach Lane Kiffin, Pickett was told during his recruitment that he would get the chance to wear No. 5 before he signed with the Tigers in December 2024, when Brian Kelly was still the head coach. Pickett came in as the top-rated player in LSU’s 2025 signing class and one of the country’s most highly regarded cornerbacks.
He didn’t wear No. 5 as a freshman, though. Pickett played in all 13 games in No. 3, piling up 37 tackles and a team-high three interceptions while earning Freshman All-America and Freshman All-SEC honors.
Kelly told ESPN he believed No. 5 had indeed been promised to Pickett during the recruiting process, but he decided not to hand it out because Daniels had not agreed to another LSU player wearing it. Kelly compared that situation to how LSU handled Joe Burrow’s No. 9.
“We didn’t want to issue No. 9, so you can’t treat one differently from the other,” Kelly told ESPN.
Kelly was fired in October 2025, and Kiffin took over after the regular season. On Aug. 5, Kiffin said he dug into what Pickett had been told and decided LSU should follow through on the promise.
“When a kid’s promised something to come to a school, he should wear it,” Kiffin said.
LSU now has Pickett listed as No. 5 on its official 2026 roster profile, making him the first Tigers player to wear that number since Daniels’ LSU career ended in 2023. Daniels wore No. 5 in both of his seasons in Baton Rouge, won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 and later went No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
ESPN reported that Daniels’ move to cut off LSU’s use of his name, image and likeness stems from the school allowing Pickett to wear the number. A spokesperson for Daniels said the quarterback had made clear he did not want his number given to another player and believed those wishes would be respected.
The Aug. 5 cease-and-desist letter itself does not mention Pickett, No. 5 or the jersey issue. Instead, Daniels’ attorney argues LSU’s contractual authorization to use Daniels’ NIL has expired and demands the university stop using it.
Pickett is now set to become the first LSU player to wear No. 5 since Daniels left Baton Rouge.
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