LSU capitalizing on chance to contend for 5-star CB DJ Pickett

Baton Rouge was a true recruiting hotbed over the weekend, as LSU hosted over 30 top-300 recruits. Brian Kelly and his staff truly had the who’s who of the 2025 cycle on campus across the past couple of days.

One the elite athletes in The Boot was Zephyrhills (Fla.) five-star cornerback DJ Pickett. Coming out of the February dead period, he made it clear that he was narrowing his focus ahead of what he hopes will be an October commitment.

At the end of 2023, LSU was not a team on Pickett’s radar. That swiftly changed upon the hiring of defensive backs coach Corey Raymond — who returned to the Tigers after getting relieved of his duties at Florida.

“As soon as Corey Raymond got hired by LSU, (Pickett) quickly said ‘hey, LSU’s a team I want to check out.’ Right before the dead period at the end of January he goes to LSU,” LSU insider Shea Dixon said on ‘The Inside Scoop’. “Right when the dead period ends in March he’s back at LSU and hanging out with all these guys like (Bryce) Underwood, Dakorien Moore, these other five-stars and No. 1 players at their positions.”

Now, Pickett has made a pair of trips to Baton Rouge and has already set an official visit date for May 31-June 2. In a hurry, LSU has emerged as one of the teams to beat in the race for the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle.

“The connections I have there, especially with Coach Raymond, make LSU stand out,” Pickett told On3’s Chad Simmons last month. “Then the history of LSU, what it can do for me on and off the field and the resources they have. I was on Florida heavy when Coach Raymond was there, but he is back at LSU, where he made them DBU, so that just adds fuel to the fire.”

Pickett sits atop LSU’s DB board in the 2025 cycle

Raymond has long been touted as one of the top recruiters in the nation. Now that he’s back in familiar territory, and already has a stellar recruiting class to work off of, the job of making LSU look appealing for top-ranked DBs is much easier.

“The Corey Raymond connection opened the door in a big way, I think LSU’s capitalizing — they need corners badly, that’s one thing they really want to re-stock with Raymond is bringing in these five-star corner types every cycle,” Dixon said. “I think this cycle, DJ Pickett’s that guy they have circled.”

There’s still plenty of competition for Pickett, however. Oregon, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and Miami are all also charging for his pledge. Entering a busy spring and summer, though, the Tigers certainly sit in a good spot.

“He’s going to take visits, he’s not going to pop tomorrow or anything like that,” Dixon said. “But I do think that if you were to poll the teams that are really in the mix here, I think all of them would say LSU’s the team that’s made the biggest splash into the 2024 calendar.”