What LSU football's DJ Pickett said about Jayden Daniels' No. 5 jersey saga

BATON ROUGE — Jersey numbers matter. If you don't think so, ask current LSU football sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett and former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. Former Tigers coach Brian Kelly and his staff promised Pickett during his recruitment process that he would be able to wear No. 5, the number of the school's most recent Heisman Trophy winner in Daniels. Pickett didn't wear the number during his freshman season but with Lane Kiffin now on board, the new coach wanted to honor what had been promised the former five-star prized prospect. "About the number situation, I've worn the number my whole life since I was 4 years old," Pickett told media members following LSU's fall camp practice Aug. 13. "It was the number I was promised. Yeah, I wish Jayden the best. A good player, he did real good here. So that's all." Daniels' legal representatives sent LSU athletics director Verge Ausberry a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 5, stating the school's rights to use Daniel's name, image and likeness has expired. Per the NIL deal he signed with LSU, the school's rights to use his NIL expired 180 days following his departure from LSU. "LSU no longer possesses any contractual control authorization, license, consent or other right to use, display, reproduce, distribute, publish, transmit, advertise, promote, commercialize or otherwise exploit Mr. Daniels' NIL," the letter states. "This prohibition includes any use of Mr. Daniels' NIL in connection with accomplishments achieved during his tenure at LSU including without limitation any individual honors such as the Heisman Trophy." The letter further states LSU's receipt of it will be "deemed knowing and willful and will be pursued vigorously through all available legal and equitable remedies without further notice." Daniels' representation told ESPN the correspondence is a direct response to LSU allowing Pickett to wear No. 5 this season, the first to have worn the jersey number since Daniels in 2024. "The Daniels' family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," the statement to ESPN reportedly said. "Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university." Pickett has been wearing No. 5 since fall camp opened last week. He wore No. 3 during spring practice. "DJ is in (5) and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here for him to sign here," first-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin said earlier in fall camp. "I've done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn't have a decision to make. It was promised to the kid. It wasn't done for whatever. I'm not going to get into that. "I'm not going to judge something I wasn't here for but when the kid is promised something to come to school, he should wear it. He should be honored what he was told so he's wearing it." Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What LSU football's DJ Pickett said about Jayden Daniels' No. 5 jersey saga