Fournette blesses Pickett's No. 5 as LSU's Daniels dispute lingers

Days before LSU opens its season against Clemson, former Tigers star Leonard Fournette waded into one of the program's messier offseason storylines — handing cornerback D.J. Pickett a custom gold chain bearing No. 5 during a Friday, Aug. 28 practice visit.

The number belonged to Jayden Daniels before he left for the NFL, and its reassignment to Pickett has become a legal and emotional fight. Daniels' legal team has sent LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry a cease-and-desist letter over the school's continued use of his name, image and likeness in marketing. His family didn't hide its frustration.

"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," a family spokesperson said. "Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy."

Fournette's message, by contrast, was two words. "Gotta bless the 5," he said.

Pickett has said LSU promised him the number when he committed in December 2024, and that he's worn it since he was 4 years old. Brian Kelly, LSU's coach at the time, confirmed the promise but said he held off assigning the number because Daniels wasn't comfortable with it. Kiffin, hired after Kelly's firing, said he found no real decision to make once he looked into it.

"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."

Daniels, focused on the Commanders' 2026 opener, said on Instagram he hopes the matter "gets done privately."