Jayden Daniels’s LSU legacy lives in a shadow.
Joe Burrow and the 2019 national champions left an indelible mark on the Tiger program and college football as a whole. LSU had waded through a period of middling to miserable quarterback play before No. 9 set the collegiate scene on fire to the tune of more than 6,000 yards and 60 scores.
When Daniels became the second player in SEC history to run for 1,000 and throw for 3,500 while LSU led the nation in total offense, it was like LSU fans had already seen that episode. Compounding Daniels’s problems, LSU managed to field the worst defense in school history in 2023 which cost the Tigers three games.
Still, No. 5 was brilliant as a senior, and he will deservedly have that number retired one day. Today is not that day, so D.J. Pickett can wear it.
Pickett wore No. 3 a season ago when he was named the On3 National Defensive True Freshman of the Year. At Wednesday’s fall camp opener, he donned No. 5. It’s the first time a Tiger has worn that number since Laterrence Welch wore it for the Reliaquest Bowl that Daniels opted out of after accepting the Heisman Trophy. That’s to say no one has been given the number since Daniels etched his name in the history books.
Like No. 9, No. 5 had been roped off but not retired.
Lane Kiffin said Wednesday that Pickett had been promised the number in recruiting. That was under Brian Kelly’s watch with Corey Raymond and Blake Baker heavily involved. Both assistant coaches remain under Kiffin.
“I’ve done a lot of research on (the number) with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn’t have a decision to make,” Kiffin said. “It was promised to the kid, wasn’t done…I’m not going to get into that, because I’m not going to judge something that I wasn’t here for, but when a kid’s promised something to come to a school, he should wear it.”
When Daniels’s day in Tiger Stadium comes, and it will, no one is going to mar the occasion saying “yeah, but DJ Pickett wore it a few years later.” Instead, it will be a celebration of Daniels leaving a wake of Florida Gators on the Tiger Stadium turf as he ran for 234 yards and passed for 372. No one in FBS history had ever done that. There will be memories of the three fourth quarter touchdown passes to beat Texas A&M and lock up the Heisman.
Daniels posted the highest passer rating in FBS history while running for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s second on LSU’s all-time list in touchdowns responsible for and set the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
It would be big of Pickett to stick with No. 3 to respect Daniels, but it would also be big if he put on No. 5 and played like an all-American this fall.
When Charles Alexander had his moment last September, no one groused that CJ Daniels, Nic Brossette and Jai Eugene had worn No. 4. Mansoor Delane was wearing it quite nicely that night. I don’t expect many mentions of Ali Highsmith when Bert Jones’s No. 7 is illuminated at halftime of the Texas game in November.
They’re legends for a reason, like Daniels.
Very few my age and younger respect tradition more than me. I loathe the alternative uniforms and wince when the student section insists on turning 11 songs per game into a vulgar chant. If that makes me an old man yelling at a cloud, I’ll wear that label.
In this instance, I can fully respect the legacy Daniels left at LSU while understanding that his number is not yet retired like Billy Cannon’s No. 20, so it’s fair game for Pickett. If they give No. 9 out next year to the next five-star that wants to play for LSU under that condition, fine.
One day, that option won’t be there as Burrow and Daniels join their Heisman fraternity brother Cannon on the facade of the south endzone.
For now, in the words of Lil’ Wayne, “Go, DJ.”
