LSU cornerback DJ Pickett says he has no plans to change out of the No. 5 amid pushback from 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, with the Washington Commanders quarterback saying the situation won't distract from his focus on the NFL season.
"I've worn the number my whole life, since I was 4 years old," Pickett, a sophomore, said Thursday. "It's the number I was promised [by LSU]. I wish Jayden the best. Good player, and he did real good here [at LSU]. So, that's all."
An attorney representing Daniels has informed LSU that it can no longer use his name, image and likeness, according to an Aug. 5 letter sent to Tigers athletic director Verge Ausberry, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Wednesday.
At the center of the dispute, according to a statement from Daniels' spokesperson to ESPN, is that the Tigers are allowing Pickett to wear the No. 5 jersey that Daniels wore when he became LSU's third Heisman winner in 2023.
"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," the statement from Daniels' spokesperson read. "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 wore No. 3 during his first season with the Tigers in 2025 when he was named a freshman All-American, but he was wearing No. 5 when the Tigers opened preseason practice last week. He led LSU with three interceptions to go with 37 tackles and one sack in 524 defensive snaps.
"Honestly, man, this right here makes us want to wear the number more," Damien Pickett, DJ's father, told The Advocate on Thursday. "LSU has not said anything to us about the number, about us being able to wear the number. Coach [Lane Kiffin] has been in full support of my son through this process.
"It's not really pertaining to my son, but he's been put in the middle of something that has nothing to do with him. My boy's been wearing No. 5 his whole life."
Pickett's agent, Brian Davis, declined to discuss details of Pickett's NIL deal with LSU when reached by ESPN on Thursday.
While Daniels' jersey hasn't been retired by the Tigers, it's the first time a player has worn No. 5 since he left the program for the NFL as the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft. He spent three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU for his final two seasons.
"I have been locked in on training camp and that's been my No. 1 focus," Daniels posted to Instagram on Thursday. "I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU and I'm proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there. Obviously there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU, and my hope is that it will get done privately.
"My sole personal focus is on Commanders' football. I realize the business of football is unique and I trust this can all be resolved."
An LSU athletic department spokesperson declined to comment when reached by ESPN on Wednesday.
Kiffin told reporters Aug. 5 that former LSU coach Brian Kelly had promised Pickett that he could wear No. 5 when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024. Pickett had worn that number as a high school star in Zephyrhills, Florida, where he was the No. 2 cornerback in the Class of 2025 by ESPN Recruiting.
"DJ is in [No.] 5, and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here," Kiffin said. "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 [reason]. I'm not going to get into that.
"I'm not going to judge something [that was done] when I wasn't here. But when a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it. So at that point, I don't think that's really my decision. We should honor what he was told."
Kelly told ESPN on Wednesday that he believed No. 5 was promised to Pickett during his recruitment, but Kelly chose not to issue it to him because Daniels wasn't on board with Pickett wearing his number.
Kelly was fired on Oct. 26, 2025, after his teams compiled a 34-14 record in four seasons.
"I just wasn't prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner," Kelly told ESPN. "We didn't want to issue No. 9, so you can't treat one differently from the other."
The No. 9 jersey that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow used at LSU hasn't been worn since 2019, when he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Tigers to a 15-0 record and College Football Playoff national championship.
LSU has retired the jerseys of four of its former players -- halfback Billy Cannon (No. 20), defensive back Tommy Casanova (No. 37), halfback Jerry Stovall (No. 21) and running back Charles Alexander (No. 4) -- and plans to retire former quarterback Bert Jones' No. 7 jersey on Nov. 14.
The No. 20 jersey made famous by Cannon, who was the team's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1959, is the only number that can't be worn again by a football player, per LSU policy.
Damien Pickett told The Advocate that he has "the utmost respect" for Kiffin "for honoring what was promised to my son." His anger, he said, is directed more toward Kelly and his staff.
"If we would have been told during our recruiting process and they had said, 'Hey, No. 5 is not being issued. We can't promise you No. 5, but we can talk to Jayden and see what Jayden has to say. If he gives his blessing, he does. If he doesn't, he doesn't,' [we would have] moved forward,''" Damien Pickett told The Advocate. "If we were to have had a situation like that, it probably would not have blown up like this."
Damien Pickett also isn't happy with how this has played out -- for his son, for the school and for Daniels.
"We never in a million years would have thought that it would come to this about a number, but we're here," Damien Pickett told The Advocate. "Again, my boy doesn't really care for the attention. It's disappointing considering that we're getting ready to start the season.
"To have a situation like this happen right now, considering that Jayden is a legend at LSU and it's out that he's not supportive of my son wearing his number, is very disappointing. ... We wish in a perfect world that [Daniels] would have given him his blessing, and just from Tiger to Tiger, wish my son well."
