RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A strange story has come out regarding one of the NFL's young stars, and one of the more prominent past college football stars.
Earlier this week, it came out that Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, a former Heisman Trophy winner with the LSU Tigers , had issued a cease-and-desist letter to Louisiana State, saying that they could no longer use his name, image, or likeness. This came after LSU allowed sophomore defensive back DJ Pickett to wear the No. 5 jersey that Daniels wore during his two seasons in Baton Rouge.
According to a report from ESPN, Daniels felt "profoundly disrespected" that his number wasn't retired and the team let someone else wear it.
In Daniels' two seasons with the Tigers, he went 20-7, throwing for 6,725 yards, 57 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, while also adding 2,019 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground.
After the letter came out from Daniels, it appears that a new development has dropped, with On3 reporting on Thursday morning that Pickett, a sophomore at LSU and former 5-star recruit, has no plans to change his jersey number.
Pickett wore No. 3 in 2025, earning Freshman All-American honors from On3. He was seen wearing No. 5 last week when fall camp opened up, and according to On3 , it is in his NIL contract that he is able to wear the jersey number.
“DJ is in [No.] 5, and that was a situation that was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here,” head coach Lane Kiffin said earlier this month. “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."
LSU has not yet awarded the No. 7 and No. 18 jerseys, which are traditionally given to the team’s top leader and playmaker. LSU has retired the jerseys of four of its former players: Billy Cannon (No. 20), Tommy Casanova (No. 37), Jerry Stovall (No. 21) and Charles Alexander (No. 4). The school also reportedly plans to retire former quarterback Bert Jones’ No. 7 jersey on Nov. 14.
The No. 9 jersey that was worn by Joe Burrown during the 2019 National Championship run and Heisman Trophy year has also not been worn by any player since his departure.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: New development drops on Jayden Daniels LSU complaint
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