There have now been comments from both Jayden Daniels and DJ Pickett, the two LSU Tigers players involved in the recent jersey number controversy.
The LSU Tigers are involved with yet another controversy, and it has now had public comments from both parties involved, shedding a little bit more light while also affirming that this might drag on a bit.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Tigers had received a cease-and-desist from quarterback Jayden Daniels, stating that the school could no longer use the quarterback's name, image and likeness. This comes after it was revealed that Lane Kiffin would honor the previous staff's promise to DJ Pickett for the number five, which Daniels wore during his Heisman-winning career at LSU.
The family of Daniels were reportedly upset by the school's decision to hand out the number to someone else. The expectation on that side, was that Daniels' No. 5 jersey would hang up in Tiger Stadium and be retired. Similar to what is expected of Joe Burrow's No. 9, which has not been worn since he graduated and will likely never be worn again.
This seems to be a drama caused by miscommunications and tough spots created by promises from other people. It's unclear how this is going to end, but there has now been public comment made by both parties.
Here is the statement released by Daniels via his Instagram story on Friday:
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"I have been locked in on training camp, and that's been my number one focus. 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."
This was the expected response from Daniels, as most additional reporting has pointed to this being a decision that was, in large part, from his camp rather than the quarterback himself. It would be surprising if this was at the top of his list of priorities during training camp, coming back from a down sophomore campaign.
While it doesn't retract the cease-and-desist, this shows that Daniels himself does want to keep a connection with the school and fanbase if possible.
It does not appear that Pickett changing his number will be a part of that resolution, though, as the cornerback doubled down on the decision when asked about it during a press conference, via video from 104.5 ESPN:
"I've worn the number my whole life, since I was four years old. It's a number I was promised. I wish Jayden the best, good players and he did real good here."
It's not the response that would have resolved this situation the easiest, but it is also a fair response from the player. It's a number that means a lot to him, and he will wear it by whatever means possible. This is not a new thing in football. Players every year want numbers that are supposedly off limits on every team in every sport.
Pickett was told he could wear it by someone else, and the Tigers kept that promise to keep their current player happy. Overall, this is not a big deal and should be viewed as a non-story.
