In the late hours of the night, ESPN broke the news that Jayden Daniels has sent a cease and desist letter to LSU for using his name, image, and likeness. According to the story, the letter was sent to LSU on August 5.
I previously heard some rumors regarding frustrations that Daniels had after the news broke that LSU was issuing No. 5 to DJ Pickett. Well, here is the fallout from what I heard.
Daniels felt that he had done enough at LSU for his number to not be worn again, given the fact that he had one of the most prolific Heisman campaigns of the modern era. Considering how poorly LSU’s defense played that season, Daniels winning the Heisman was truly a challenge because the biggest knock against him was that LSU lost three games. Everyone who witnessed that team knew that if the defense had played better, LSU would’ve had the opportunity to compete for a national championship, if not win it, that season.
Pickett is a former five-star cornerback who was heavily recruited by Brian Kelly and Coach Corey Raymond. During Pickett’s recruitment, he was seen wearing No. 5 in all of his photos during that time.
Lane Kiffin was asked about the number change during his first press conference after practice last week. Kiffin stated that he did his research on the topic, spoke with family and representatives, and found out that Pickett was promised No. 5 during his recruitment. He felt Pickett should have been given the number since it was promised to him as part of his recruitment to the school.
Now, that promise came from the previous staff, which was led by the aforementioned head coach, Brian Kelly.
Kelly is quoted in the article as saying that Pickett was not issued the number because Daniels was not on board with giving the number out, and Kelly wanted to get approval from the former Heisman winner. This was especially important to Kelly because No. 9 was no longer being issued, despite not being officially retired. Kelly felt that it was not right to treat one differently from the other.
Regardless, this situation is not a good one.
Things like this have a way of creating division between a former player and the school where he accomplished historic things. It can also create division among fans and now, possibly, even former teammates.
The policy for retiring numbers is not very well defined at LSU. As of 2007, LSU retires the jersey of a former player, but not necessarily the number itself. It’s why numbers such as No. 4, worn by Charles Alexander, and No. 7, worn by soon-to-be-honored Bert Jones, are still being used.
One of the greatest players in the history of LSU is now essentially estranged from the program.
Let’s also make this clear: LSU has every right to issue any number that is available to be issued. And if the number was promised to Pickett—and even Kelly admitted that it was—then the new staff has to do right by one of its best players.
Hopefully, this can reach some type of meaningful conclusion where all parties are satisfied and everyone feels good about honoring the past while also looking forward to the future.
What are your thoughts on this breaking news, and do you think it’s time for LSU to change its number retirement policy and do you think Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow should officially have should have their numbers retired?