Auriemma spoke about the hypothetical in a sit-down interview with USA Today Sports, a clip of which was posted to Instagram on August 14. There, the host asked him about potentially bringing in both Clark and Bueckers in the same recruiting class and Clark’s disappointment in not being recruited by UConn, and his verdict was clear.

“When I saw Paige play, the commitment to Paige was very early,” he said. “And if I didn’t think we could get Paige, who knows what would have happened? Who knows who we may have recruited, who we may have gotten. But I knew we were going to get Paige. I also knew that that’s not going to work, the two of them together for four years in college. No disrespect to anybody. We got what we wanted. We got what we needed. And the rest is history.”

Geno Auriemma committed to Bueckers, but it wasn’t because Clark was not talented. Both players were top recruits in the high school class of 2020, with Clark ranking #4 and Bueckers leading the country. However, he also knew that if he brought both players in, it would crowd the backcourt with two ball-dominant players. He has previously explained the decision differently back on April 2, 2024, when the Huskies played Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes.

“Well, there’s a lot of kids we didn’t recruit, and there’s a lot of kids who don’t want to go to UConn,” he told reporters ahead of the game. “I committed to Paige Bueckers very, very early, and it would have been silly for me to say to Paige, ‘Hey listen, we’re going to put you in the backcourt, and then I’m going to try really hard to recruit Caitlin Clark.’ I don’t do it that way.”

However, it is also well known that Clark’s not being recruited by UConn disappointed her. In an ESPN profile on March 20, 2024, Clark explained that Iowa wasn’t her first choice. She wanted to go to UConn, but Auriemma never ended up recruiting her, despite speaking to her AAU coach. That shifted her attention to her next choice: Iowa or Notre Dame.

Back to the present day, Geno Auriemma explained that while he understood Clark’s disappointment at not being recruited, she could’ve spoken to him about it any time she wanted to.

“My thing is you should have picked up the phone and called me and said, ‘Coach, I want to come to Connecticut.’ I don’t think that was ever the case, to be honest with you,” he told the interviewer. “Everybody wants to be recruited by Connecticut. Like, who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t be able to sit there and go, ‘Hey, Mom, guess what? I just got offered a scholarship from UConn.'”

Regardless, considering Paige Bueckers‘ national championship at UConn despite multiple injury setbacks, Geno Auriemma’s decision produced the outcome he wanted.

The post “Knew That’s Not Going to Work”: Geno Auriemma Breaks Down Why UConn Didn’t Pair Caitlin Clark With Paige Bueckers appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Nick Saban joined 104.5 ESPN’s Matt Moscona, recalling his time with Skip Bertman, the LSU baseball icon who passed away Friday at 88. During the conversation, the former veteran coach brought up the advice he received before his move to the NFL. Bertman basically wanted him to pick a lane. Did he want to build a legacy in college football and be remembered like Bear Bryant? Or did he want to chase a professional career and someday be compared with Don Shula?

“I said I want to be a college coach and get remembered like Bear Bryant. And he gave me great advice,” he recalled. “I guess, being a dumba–, I took the job at the Dolphins. But anyway, he asked me the question. I answered the question and did just the opposite.”

That misstep stayed with Saban for years, largely because the warning came from a man who mastered team psychology better than almost anyone in college sports. Bertman did not just give advice; he saw straight through the noise of professional temptation.

When Bertman asked that question, he was speaking from decades of building champions in Baton Rouge. He transformed LSU baseball into a national powerhouse, winning five national championships across the 1990s and 2000s. By the time Saban arrived in 2000, Bertman was the gold standard of leadership on campus, making his counsel impossible to ignore without consequences.

Nick Saban and Skip Bertman worked together as LSU athletics entered one of its strongest periods. Saban led the football program to the 2003 national championship, while Bertman helped oversee the department. Their relationship went beyond two coaches sharing an athletic department.

“Skip was an icon as a coach,” Nick Saban said. “I think his knowledge of human behavior, how to motivate people, how to get the best out of people, his leadership style was unique and obviously as successful as anybody in our profession, in any sport… I had a great relationship with him. I loved him.”

Then came Nick Saban’s NFL detour. He left LSU after the 2004 season for Miami, coached the Dolphins for two seasons, and went 15-17 before resigning in January 2007. The experiment never came close to matching what he had built in college. He returned to the college game with Alabama, and that’s where his Bear Bryant-like legacy began. 

Nick Saban won six national championships at Alabama, adding to the title he had already won at LSU. He eventually retired after the 2023 season with seven national championships, twelve conference titles, and a reputation as one of college football’s defining coaches. In other words, he eventually became what Skip Bertman had asked him about.

Skip Bertman died at Baton Rouge General Hospital, surrounded by his daughters. His death closed another chapter in LSU’s history. But Nick Saban’s story gives his legacy a slightly different edge. The baseball coach simply asked him to be honest about what he wanted. Saban was honest. He just ignored himself at that point in his life.

The post “Did Just the Opposite”: Nick Saban Admits He Asked LSU Baseball Legend for Advice and Ignored It for Career Mistake He Regrets appeared first on EssentiallySports.

On August 14th, Alabama insider Brett Greenberg hopped onto his X handle and shared some devastating news about sophomore running back AK Dear. “BREAKING: Alabama sophomore running back AK Dear will miss extended time with a lower leg injury,” he tweeted.

The Quitman native went down with a lower leg and ankle injury during the team’s first big scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and he is expected to miss around six weeks. It is a huge bummer because Dear was reportedly having an absolute field day at camp, having already scored a touchdown before succumbing to the injury.

DeBoer noted after practice that Dear had already found the end zone earlier in the session before the training staff had to step in.

Losing Dear for the front half of the schedule strips away one of Alabama’s most explosive young playmakers. As a true freshman in 2025, he maximized limited reps, averaging 7.4 yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns across five appearances, highlighted by a 56-yard touchdown sprint against Louisiana-Monroe.

He was widely expected to step into a heavy rotational workload alongside starter Daniel Hill, but now the Tide will have to navigate their early non-conference slate without him. Instead, Dear will be watching from the sidelines, mostly missing all of Alabama’s early non-conference games and even the start of their tough SEC schedule.

The timing couldn’t be tougher for offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Five-star freshman EJ Crowell, Alabama’s “Mr. Football” award winner, missed the scrimmage with a minor injury. While DeBoer reassured reporters that Crowell should return to practice shortly and be ready for the season opener, having both young backs sidelined at once leaves Alabama with just four fully healthy scholarship running backs for the remainder of the fall camp.

With Dear on the shelf and Crowell easing back in, Alabama is down to just a handful of healthy scholarship running backs (3) for the rest of fall camp. The burden now falls onto the shoulders of Daniel Hill, who established himself as Alabama’s primary goal-line option last fall with a team-leading six rushing touchdowns.

Junior Kevin Riley, who had 59 carries for 224 yards and two scores last season, will also see a lot more action. The whole situation forces Coach DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to quickly shift their game plans before the season opener. DeBoer loves a balanced offense that uses a powerful run game to set up big, explosive passing plays downfield. Since Hill is more of a bruising runner and Riley is a fast change-of-pace back, the coaches will have to get creative with how they rotate them.

Perhaps they would use both backs on the field at the same time or even rely on Keelon Russell’s legs to make certain plays. True freshman running back Trae’shawn Brown is also likely to be pushed into the spotlight much faster than expected to fill the gaps, though he has already been a pleasant surprise to coaches during camp.

All eyes are now on how the rest of the roster responds to these early challenges. Not going to lie, losing a player like AK Dear is a tough pill to swallow. But at the same time, it should give these younger guys a big opportunity to prove themselves and make the best out of this tribulation.

Alabama still has plenty of talent to make a deep run, but their depth is definitely getting tested before the real games even begin.

Other questionable injuries!

The injury bug didn’t just stop at the running backs either, as a couple of other key players are banged up too.

On offense, sophomore wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks missed a couple of practices and the big scrimmage with an injury. Brooks was a big part of the passing game last year. He played all 14 games as WR2 and racked up 32 catches for 441 yards and two touchdowns, alongside 283 kick return yards. The majority of analysts had him taking over the mantle of WR1 somewhere in the first half because of Ryan Williams’ poor consistency.

Over on the defensive side, former five-star recruit and freshman defensive back Jorden Edmonds got hurt earlier in the week during practice and is expected to miss at least a few weeks.

It seems like the training room at Tuscaloosa is getting way busier than anyone wanted it to be this early in the year. How DeBoer handles these early August setbacks will set the tone for Alabama’s campaign. The Crimson Tide still possesses plenty of top-tier talent, but their offensive depth is getting an unexpected trial by fire long before kickoff day.

The post Kalen DeBoer Hit by Another Injury Blow as Alabama’s Offensive Room Begins to Run Thin appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“I’ve said that about Tom Brady. The greatest quarterback in NFL history,” Belichick said on his August 14 fall camp presser. “As great as Tom was, and he was great. He made a lot of great plays, but the most important thing he did was he eliminated the bad ones. So, there’s nothing more important than the decisions that the quarterback makes to make good plays or, in some cases, spectacular and right plays.”

“But most importantly, on a down-after-down basis, to eliminate the bad ones. Not just at his position, but overall offensively. [If] I made a bad call, or I put him (Tom Brady) in a situation where this protection wasn’t very good against the blitz they were showing. And he found a way to either get rid of the ball or change the protection.”

UNC has three QBs competing for the starting role this fall: Billy Edwards Jr., Miles O’Neill, and Au’Tori Newkirk. Edwards brings the most experience, while O’Neill arrives from Texas A&M with plenty of potential but very little college playing time. Redshirt freshman Newkirk is the younger option trying to push his way into the conversation. Interestingly, the battle is still ongoing, and no one has emerged as a leader as Belichick outlined.

“I don’t think there’s a leader in the clubhouse, but it’s been very competitive,” Belichick said of the QB battle.

Belichick does not need someone who tries to go for the kill every snap. He wants someone who knows when the big play is there, when it isn’t, and when throwing the ball away is the smartest decision. That sounds simple until a QB is standing in the pocket with 70,000 people screaming and a defender closing in. Brady, though, was a master at that.

In the 2014 AFC Divisional Game vs. the Baltimore Ravens, Brady did just that against a dominant front seven featuring Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata. Initially, the Patriots wanted a balanced ground game, but the Ravens’ front line limited the team to just 14 rushing yards. However, that’s when Brady showed his brilliance. He used his fast throws to render the D-line ineffective.

And that wasn’t an exception. With Brady, it was the norm, especially in the playoffs. Belichick could have used those skills during his first year at the Tar Heels. Among the many issues that plagued the 2025 campaign, QB play stands out, especially given the lack of production from the starters.

Gio Lopez started most games, and Max Johnson filled in when the former was injured. However, the offense never looked like a well-oiled unit, something that Coach Belichick can’t afford next season.

The post “He Was Great”: Bill Belichick Makes Tom Brady Demand From UNC QB Room After Worrying Update appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“Yeah, they told me that they wouldn’t use it again. But you never know what happens.” Joe said when asked about the status of his own No. 9 at LSU. “I just heard about it a couple hours ago,” Joe Burrow said, via ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I don’t necessarily have too many thoughts at this time. I just don’t know enough about the situation.”

So basically, the whole thing started with a recruiting promise. DJ Pickett had worn No. 5 since childhood, used it in high school, and even appeared in the number during his LSU official visit. Brian Kelly’s staff reportedly promised him No. 5 as part of his recruitment, but Pickett wore No. 3 as a freshman. Kelly later explained that he was not comfortable reissuing Jayden Daniels’ number without Daniels’ approval, especially after LSU had already kept Joe Burrow’s No. 9 out of circulation. That left Pickett with a promise that had been made but never actually delivered.

“I’m not going to judge something [that was done] when I wasn’t here,” he said. “But when a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it. So at that point, I don’t think that’s really my decision. We should honor what he was told,” said Lane.

Lane Kiffin inherited that problem and chose to stop dancing around it. After speaking with Pickett’s family and representatives, he decided LSU should honor what the previous staff had promised. Pickett switched to No. 5, and that is when the situation blew up. Daniels’ family said they felt “profoundly disrespected” and believed the number should have remained protected as part of his LSU legacy, even though LSU had never formally retired it. The dispute then escalated into a cease-and-desist over LSU’s use of Daniels’ name, image, and likeness.

Well, LSU has never officially retired Joe Burrow’s No. 9, but nobody has touched it since his historic 2019 season. Burrow went 15-0, won the Heisman and delivered LSU a national championship while throwing 60 touchdown passes. He finished the run by shredding Clemson for 463 passing yards and six total touchdowns in a 42-25 title-game win. No. 9 may not be formally retired, but Burrow gave LSU plenty of reason to treat it like it was.

That expectation did not come out of nowhere. LSU has never officially retired Joe Burrow’s No. 9, but the school has not issued it to another player since his historic 2019 season.

As of now, LSU has officially retired four football jerseys: Billy Cannon’s No. 20, Tommy Casanova’s No. 37, Jerry Stovall’s No. 21 and Charles Alexander’s No. 4, with Bert Jones’ No. 7 set to join them later this year. But LSU’s post-2007 policy draws a clear line between retiring a jersey and permanently removing a number from circulation.

Other blue-blood programs have dealt with iconic numbers without creating this much confusion. USC retires Heisman winners’ numbers but has made exceptions when the former star signs off, as Mike Garrett did when Darnell Bing wore No. 20.

Ohio State keeps its old retired numbers off the field but honors more recent legends like Troy Smith without permanently killing their numbers. Michigan tried recycling retired numbers through its “Legends” program, then scrapped the idea and put them back on the shelf. LSU has chosen a murkier middle ground.

Most retired jersey numbers can still be issued at the head coach’s discretion, while recent stars can believe their numbers are protected without any formal rule guaranteeing it. Cannon’s No. 20 remains one of the older exceptions and can never be worn again.

That is exactly how LSU ended up with Daniels expecting No. 5 to stay untouched while Pickett was simultaneously promised the same number in recruiting.

That policy explains what LSU is allowed to do. The harder question is whether it should have done it, and that is where the two sides sharply disagree.

What each party is saying about the No. 5 

Neither side is particularly happy with how this played out. Daniels’ camp believes LSU failed to respect his legacy, while Pickett’s family is frustrated that a number they say was promised to him turned into a public fight.

When reporters noticed on Aug. 5 that DJ Pickett was wearing No. 5, it became clear Jayden Daniels’ camp saw the situation very differently.

“The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player,” the statement read. 

DJ Pickett’s father also spoke out after the cease-and-desist letter surfaced, and he made it clear the family was not backing off No. 5.

“If we would have been told during our recruiting process and they had said, ‘Hey, No. 5 is not being issued. We can’t promise you No. 5, but we can talk to Jayden and see what Jayden has to say. If he gives his blessing, he does. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t,’ (we would have) moved forward,” he said.

DJ Pickett has also stuck to the same story.

“I’ve worn the number my whole life, since I was 4 years old,” he said. “It’s the number I was promised. I wish Jayden the best. Good player, and he did real good here [at LSU]. So, that’s all.”

Jayden Daniels himself has tried to keep the temperature down.

“I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU, and I’m proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there,” he wrote on Instagram. “Obviously there are issues to be worked out between my team and LSU, and my hope is that it will get done privately.”

That is probably easier said than done because this stopped being about a jersey a while ago. Burrow’s comments only complicate the situation, because LSU apparently gave him assurances about No. 9 that now look relevant to Daniels’ case.

The post “They Told Me…”: Joe Burrow Breaks Silence on What LSU Promised Him as Jayden Daniels’ Drama Gets Ugly appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“I don’t have a relationship with them. They called and stuff, but I ain’t want to stay in Columbus for real if I’m being honest. …When I made my list and stuff, I told my mom, I ain’t really trying to be in Columbus; I ain’t trying to be a Buckeye. They ain’t want me out of high school and I was right there, there’s no point in trying to get me now, you feel me?” Said Biles.

That’s about as direct as it gets. Rasheem Biles grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, practically in Ohio State’s backyard. But when he came out of Pickerington Central in 2023, the Buckeyes passed. At the time, he was a 3-star prospect ranked No. 31 in Ohio, No. 102 among linebackers and No. 1,027 nationally by the Rivals Industry Ranking. In other words, Ohio State had its reasons for looking elsewhere.

Still, Biles remembers being overlooked. Pitt and West Virginia were his only Power Four options out of high school, and he chose Pitt. Three seasons later, that decision looks a lot different. Biles developed, his value climbed, and suddenly the schools that passed the first time had a reason to call.

And the production explains why. Biles finished his Pitt career with 185 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. He also added three interceptions, 13 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, four defensive touchdowns and three blocked kicks. Last season was his breakout. He posted 101 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two interceptions, returning both picks for touchdowns. The player Ohio State once passed on had turned himself into a serious transfer target.

Colorado, Michigan and Miami all came calling once Biles entered the portal after the 2025 season, and Ohio State eventually joined them. By then, going home did not carry much weight. After visits to Colorado and Michigan, Biles chose Texas, where the fit was bigger than geography. The Longhorns offered meaningful games, a national-title chase, and a major role in Steve Sarkisian’s defense. For a linebacker who can rush, cover, and defend the run, Texas gave him exactly what Ohio State never did out of high school.

“(Texas) just asked me, what are my dreams? What are my goals for this year? Me and my mom sat down, and everything aligned. So it’s really no question. After everything aligned with my dreams, their goals and their dreams for this year, it was just a perfect match, to be honest.”

Steve Sarkisian has already called Rasheem Biles a “problem,” and the tape backs that up. Just as importantly, Biles appears to have landed in a defense that suits him, with Will Muschamp putting him in position to be disruptive rather than just another body in the linebacker room.

“It’s amazing playing in his defense,” he said. “He really puts you in position to make plays.”

And that fit matters even more when there is still something personal driving him. Biles is not the first Ohio kid to carry that kind of grudge.

Former Michigan tight end Jake Butt grew up a Buckeye fan just minutes from Ohio State, but the hometown program never offered. “They literally showed no interest,” Butt said years later. He even tried to get on the staff’s radar by mowing then-Ohio State tight ends coach Tim Hinton’s lawn, but the offer still never came. Butt went to Michigan instead and became an All-American and Mackey Award winner. That is the same nerve Biles is touching now. When the hometown powerhouse passes on you early, success elsewhere does not always make that slight disappear.

That same edge is now following Biles to Texas. He can rush, cover, hit and contribute on special teams, and he enters 2026 on the Butkus Award watch list. The Longhorns landed a versatile linebacker with something to prove. Ohio State, meanwhile, gets to watch one of its own turn an old recruiting slight into fuel somewhere else.

Ohio State finally gets Rasheem Biles, just not on its roster

A revenge shot is coming quickly for Rasheem Biles. Texas hosts Ohio State on Sept. 12 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, putting him face-to-face with the program that once passed on him. For Biles, it is more than an early-season heavyweight matchup. It is a chance to make Ohio State remember exactly who it overlooked.

“I’m excited for that game, definitely,” he said. “That’s circled on my calendar for sure.”

Of course it is. Biles does not have to go back to Columbus to make the point. Ohio State is coming to Austin instead. For a player who grew up nearby and watched the Buckeyes pass on him, that flips the entire dynamic. This time, he gets the home field and Ohio State gets the uncomfortable reunion.

Ryan Day has made keeping Ohio’s best talent home a major part of Ohio State’s identity. The portal can patch holes, but high school recruiting is supposed to build the roster. Rasheem Biles slipped through that net. Now he is at Texas, chasing a national title and heading into his final college season with a chance to make that miss look even worse.

“It’s my last year in college football,” he said. “I want to be a part of those big games. I want to win a national championship. That’s my biggest goal, and with coming here, I feel like I can do that for sure.” 

And when Ohio State walks into Austin in Week 2, Rasheem Biles won’t need anyone to give him extra motivation. The Buckeyes already did that three years ago.

The post Ohio-Born Texas Transfer Shares Blunt Message for Ohio State After Ryan Day Overlooked Him in High School appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“Yeah, I feel like it’s going to go well,” Jim Harbaugh said during an appearance on Bussin’ With The Boys. “Nothing but respect for him. And I think he’s going to do an amazing job. Wish him well. And like you, I’m the same. I mean, go blue. Forever.” 

Kyle Whittingham inherited a Michigan team coming off a 9-4 season. While the record was respectable, the overall product was not always as convincing. There were too many moments when the Wolverines looked loose with the details, something that used to be a major strength under Jim Harbaugh.

Kyle Whittingham is now trying to get Michigan back to that level. He has plenty of proof behind him. He spent 21 years at Utah and won 177 games. Sporting News has him No. 12 among coaches for 2026, up one spot from last year. At Utah, he made a habit of getting big results without a roster packed with stars.

Utah beat Oregon for the 2021 Pac-12 title, then stunned USC a year later and ended its playoff hopes. Michigan has plenty to work with. And CB Zeke Berry isn’t calling it a turnaround yet, but he likes the direction. 

“I feel like where we started from day one, and how the connection is with everyone in the field, I feel like it’s really on the up slope,” he said. 

Safety Rod Moore focused on a different aspect of the change. He pointed to discipline and a shared mindset, saying everyone is focused on winning the Big Ten.

Jim Harbaugh’s message suggests he thinks Michigan picked the right man. And after the way the previous transition ended, that might be the endorsement that matters most. Still, the contrast in his comments about the head coaches is what makes things interesting. 

When asked about Sherrone Moore after Michigan fired him in December, Jim Harbaugh kept his answer very short.

“I’m still processing that,” he said. “Still processing that like a lot of people I’m sure.”

And that was basically it. It was a strange ending to a relationship that began when Jim Harbaugh hired Sherrone Moore in 2018. When he moved on to the NFL, he had even recommended Moore as his replacement. His tenure ended with a mess that had little to do with football. 

Now, Kyle Whittingham has the job of bringing the focus back to football. He has spent decades making teams tougher, cleaner, and harder to beat. He did it at Utah without the same recruiting advantages Michigan enjoys. Now he gets those advantages too. There is no guarantee the Wolverines become a national title contender right away. But a quicker turnaround is not a wild idea. And Jim Harbaugh seems to believe the man holding the clipboard is the right one.

The post Jim Harbaugh Shares Honest Thoughts on Kyle Whittingham After Barely Speaking on Sherrone Moore’s Michigan Exit appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“To have a situation like this happen right now, considering that Jayden is a legend at LSU and it’s out that he’s not supportive of my son wearing his number, is very disappointing,” Damien told The Advocate.

That is where the Pickett family’s frustration really sits. They respect what Jayden Daniels means to LSU and understand why No. 5 carries weight. What they cannot understand is why a simple conversation between two Tigers never happened before the issue blew up into a public fight.

“We wish in a perfect world that (Daniels) would have given him his blessing,” he said, “And just from Tiger to Tiger, wish my son well.”

Instead, LSU now has a Heisman winner’s legal threat hanging over the program while a sophomore cornerback who avoids the spotlight keeps wearing No. 5. That makes the whole thing look messier than it really is. Pickett did not just grab Daniels’ old number because it was available. He has worn No. 5 since he was four years old. His older brother, Jaylen, wore it before him, and several relatives have carried the number in their own athletic careers. For the Picketts, No. 5 was already a family number long before it became part of Daniels’ LSU legacy.

“I wore the number my whole life, since I was four years old,” Pickett said. “It’s a number I was promised. I wish Jayden the best. Good player, did real good here. So, that’s all.”

DJ Pickett’s attachment to No. 5 goes even deeper. He has the number tattooed on his left arm, so it was never just a jersey preference. It mattered enough that his family asked Oregon, Miami, LSU, and Georgia during his recruitment whether he could wear it. According to Damien Pickett, all four schools told them it would not be a problem.

When DJ Pickett arrived at LSU, No. 5 had to wait. He wore No. 3 as a freshman in 2025 and earned Freshman All-America honors. Brian Kelly kept No. 5 off the table because Jayden Daniels never signed off on giving it away.

“I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” he told ESPN. “We didn’t want to issue No. 9 [Joe Burrow], so you can’t treat one differently from the other.”

LSU’s policy also weakens the idea that Daniels had any formal claim to No. 5. The school distinguishes between retiring a jersey and permanently retiring a number, and Daniels was not even eligible for jersey retirement in 2026. Brian Kelly held No. 5 back for a different reason. He knew Daniels did not want it reissued and chose to respect that request, much like LSU had done with Joe Burrow’s No. 9. In other words, Kelly’s decision came down to respect and precedent, not any contractual or policy requirement.

That logic explains why Kelly hesitated, but it also shows where better communication might have helped. Peyton Manning’s move to Denver offers a good example. Frank Tripucka’s No. 18 had already been retired by the Broncos, but Manning spoke with him before wearing it and received his blessing. Manning even said he normally believed retired numbers should stay retired, which made that conversation matter even more. LSU could have taken a similar approach with Jayden Daniels and DJ Pickett’s family, because even if everyone did not agree on the outcome, getting all sides involved before No. 5 was issued likely would have prevented the situation from escalating once emotions got involved.

Still, from Brian Kelly’s side, the hesitation was understandable. But it still left DJ Pickett waiting on a promise LSU had made. Then Lane Kiffin took over, learned that Pickett had been promised No. 5 during recruiting, and decided LSU should honor it.

“When a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it,” he said earlier this month. “So at that point, I don’t think that’s really my decision. We should honor what he was told.”

That decision set everything off.

Jayden Daniels’ LSU jersey dispute gets personal

DJ Pickett officially switched from No. 3 to No. 5 on Aug. 5. That same day, Jayden Daniels’ attorney sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter demanding that the school stop using his name, image, and likeness. ESPN reported the letter Wednesday night.

“The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU’s decision to give Jayden’s number to another player,” the statement read. 

Daniels’ camp believed No. 5 should remain protected as part of his LSU legacy. But the cease-and-desist letter did not tell DJ Pickett to stop wearing it. As of Thursday morning, LSU had not asked the Pickett family to give the jersey back either.

Damien Pickett said the family did not even know the cease-and-desist letter existed until ESPN reported it. He also made one thing clear. They do not blame Lane Kiffin. Their frustration is aimed more at Brian Kelly’s staff and how the promise was handled before Kiffin ever arrived.

“If we had been told during our recruiting process and they had said, ‘Hey, No. 5 is not being issued. We can’t promise you No. 5, but we can talk to Jayden and see what Jayden has to say. If he gives his blessing, he does. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t,’ (we would have) moved forward,”” Damien said. “If we were to have had a situation like that, it probably would not have blown up like this.”

Had the Pickett family known that from the start, Damien said, they could have made their decision with all the facts on the table. Instead, everyone reached No. 5 with a different idea of what had been promised. Now LSU has a very modern college football mess on its hands, with a Heisman winner’s legacy, a recruiting promise, NIL rights and one jersey number all colliding at once.

The post DJ Pickett’s Father ‘Very Disappointed’ Jayden Daniels Won’t Give His Son ‘His Blessing’ Over LSU Jersey Drama appeared first on EssentiallySports.

However, despite those ugly exits, Kiffin rarely struggles to gel with the fans of his new teams. That has to do with how his teams play. At the same time, the LSU head coach also makes an effort to mold himself to fit the fans’ identity. Tat ‘Juice Kiffin’ Labrador, whom he introduced at Ole Miss, or that 4D chess recruiting, were clear signs that he was a master at that. Because of that ability, ESPN journalist Paul Finebaum went up a notch and labeled him a cult leader.

“One thing about Lane Kiffin, as starry as his character has shown to be, he has this innate ability to make a fan base fall in love with him,” Paul Finebaum said on the August 12 680 The Fan podcast. “The reality was that Ole Miss fans believed everything he said. He’s like a cult leader. Lane doesn’t hand out drinks of poison like Jim Jones 40 years ago. But he does have this ability.”

“And I mean, people wanted to fight you on the streets of the square: ‘How could you dare say he’s going to leave?’ And now they want to kill the guy. Same thing happened in Tennessee.”

Lane Kiffin got a yellow Labrador, Juice, for his daughter, Landry Kiffin. In no time, Juice became a celebrity in Oxford. Kiffin featured him on recruiting trips and in viral social media videos, and Ole Miss fans connected with them.

Kiffin’s social media game also plays a part in this. He knows how to create a moment. In 2021, before a game at Alabama, Kiffin’s “get your popcorn ready” line to CBS went viral. And again, when he faced Tennessee, fans pelted the field with trash.

That also included a French mustard bottle and a golf ball. Instead of complaining about it, he scooped the ball into his pocket, carried it with him, and even showed it off in the post-game interviews. As for the mustard bottle, he famously signed it at the SEC Media Days the next summer. Those acts immediately made Kiffin a darling of the fanbase. Moreover, he didn’t hesitate to show his emotional side when he needed to.

According to Paul Finebaum, though, all of this has a predictable storyline as Kiffin arrives in Baton Rouge. If Kiffin fails to deliver results in one or two seasons, he will show a familiar pattern. Because for many, Kiffin has everything from a top transfer portal class to elite coaches to a lucrative $91 million contract. Failing isn’t an option now at LSU. But if it happens?

“Lane Kiffin will have excuses ready to go,” Finebaum said. “I mean, he’s good at that. And a lot of people in the media will follow suit.”

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However, when Cignetti was asked on August 11 on Jim Coyle’s podcast about the best thing about being a national champion, you might have expected him to enjoy the moment for a few seconds. That’s not how Cignetti does things, though.

“I don’t know. It’s over,” Cignetti said. “Just knowing you went to the top of the mountain. Makes you want to get there again.”

As far as Cignetti is concerned, the biggest achievement in Indiana history has already become yesterday’s news. That tells you how the head coach sees the program now. The elusive championship win is not the finish line. Instead, it is the standard. For outsiders, though, that feat still looks like a page taken out of a fantasy book.

Before Cignetti came to IU, the Hoosiers were the doormat program in the Big 10. In the 2023 season, the team finished with a dismal 3-9 record. IU was the losingest program in FBS history, a distinction Cignetti inherited and immediately set out to erase with his ‘Google me’ remark in the inaugural presser. Most people took it as arrogance, but few knew that the former JMU HC had a foolproof plan.

Indiana did not sneak through the 2025 schedule. They went 16-0 and beat some of the biggest names in the sport. Ohio State, Alabama, and Oregon all fell during their postseason run. Fernando Mendoza, who transferred to Indiana from Cal, won the Heisman Trophy after leading the offense during that championship season. And now, Cignetti’s out to prove that 2025 wasn’t a fluke.

The Hoosiers have a tougher schedule this time, with games against Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and Washington. Ohio State is especially important because the Buckeyes are ranked ahead of Indiana in the preseason coaches poll. There will also be a different kind of pressure inside the locker room.

Last season, Indiana could play with the freedom of a team that had little to lose. That luxury is gone. Every opponent now knows what the Hoosiers can do. Every close game will bring questions. Every loss will be treated as evidence that the championship season was an outlier. However, this time again, he has a plan.

Cignetti has brought in Josh Hoover from TCU to lead the offense. He comes after passing for more than 9,000 yards at his former program. Of course, he isn’t a prolific rusher like Mendoza. But Cignetti has tweaked his offense to fit him. Never mind, Hoover is eager to unlock his rushing ability with IU’s elite O-line to help him. It’s all a definite recipe for sustained success.

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