Former LSU and current Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is in the midst of a wild dispute with LSU. ESPN has reported that an attorney representing Daniels sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter stating that the university can no longer use his name, image, and likeness. Based on what has been reported, the impetus for the dispute is that sophomore DJ Pickett is being allowed to wear No. 5 this season, the same number Daniels wore during his 2023 Heisman campaign.
For the record, LSU never formally retired No. 5, but no one else had worn the number during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
The whole saga serves as a painful reminder to Florida fans of the night that essentially secured Daniels the trophy.
Jayden Daniels produced a historic night against Florida
Among the games and moments that derailed Billy Napier, we are surprised the 2023 loss to LSU doesn’t come up more often. The Gators actually took a 28-24 second-half lead, but lost 52-35 behind Daniels throwing for 372 yards and three touchdowns.
Oh yeah, Daniels also ran for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
He became the first player in the history of college football to throw for at least 350 yards and run for at least 200 yards in the same game.
As we noted back in 2023 after the game:
“Jayden Daniels torched the Gators for the second straight season on Saturday. He became the first QB in FBS history to pass for over 350 yards and run for over 200 yards.
Ever.
In the history of the sport.
Since they used to wear leather helmets.
Ever.
And there are a wide range of reasons why Florida football gave up 701 yards against LSU, the most ever allowed by a Gator defense.
Ever.”
Losing on the road to the eventual Heisman Trophy winner wasn't the indictment. Allowing one player to produce 606 yards and set a literal college football record while LSU accumulated the most yards ever surrendered by a Florida defense absolutely was.
Mind you, this game was part of the five-game losing streak the Gators had to end the 2023 season, and it came one week after Florida blew the game against Arkansas, in part because they didn’t know how to get their field goal unit on the field.
The player wearing Daniels’ No. 5 was once a Florida target
What’s somewhat humorous about Daniels throwing a pity party for himself is that the player now wearing No. 5 in Baton Rouge was a Florida target at one point. DJ Pickett was a five-star cornerback out of Tampa, who played for Zephyrhills, in the class of 2025.
Early in the process, Florida seemed to have solid momentum with Pickett and had him on campus on multiple occasions. That momentum dried up in 2024, and the Gators never got Pickett on campus for an official visit. According to his 247 profile, Pickett was in attendance for Florida’s meltdown against Miami to open the 2024 season, and that pretty much sealed Florida’s fate.
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