The crown jewel of LSU's 2025 recruiting class is Five-Star Cornerback DJ Pickett who On3 ranked as the top cornerback in the class. Pickett is an early enrollee meaning he gets the chance to get early reps with the team as they prepare for the Texas Bowl.
On Friday, it was revealed that DJ Pickett traveled with LSU to the Texas Bowl which will allow him to get a ton of work in with the team as LSU looks to develop him into a player that can contribute early on.
Freshman five-star corner DJ Pickett traveled with LSU to the Texas Bowl. He has been practicing, and he’ll be able to get more early work in the next few days.
— Wilson Alexander (@whalexander_) December 27, 2024
When you think of a development path most similar to the one that LSU will have DJ Pickett on, the most similar is the one that Derek Stingley Jr took. Stingley was an early enrollee and when the Spring rolled around he was facing the best receivers he'd see all season in Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, and Terrace Marshall Jr.
Derek Stingley Jr. vs Ja’Marr Chase 🔐 pic.twitter.com/7Wx8uvrSqH
— PFF (@PFF) March 6, 2022
This Spring, DJ Pickett may be facing the best receivers he'll see all season and each one brings a unique task in coverage. Zavion Thomas, Barion Brown, and Aaron Anderson all have elite speed and shiftiness. Nic Anderson at 6 foot 4 is a bigger receiver and the same height as Pickett which will give him experience against taller receivers. Chris Hilton Jr has that top end speed that can truly test Pickett.
For Derek Stingley, the development going against LSU's elite wide receiver trio worked out so well that he was a Consensus All American. Expecting Pickett to nearly reach that level would be absurd but, given the talent he has and the experience he'll get in camp, he should be ready to make an impact very early on in his career.
Given what LSU has done in the transfer portal this offseason adding two starting caliber cornerbacks, it'll only help in Pickett's development as he'll have two veterans to learn from and may not need to start week one. It'll be interesting to see how LSU's defensive back room plays out in camp but, Corey Raymond has gotten LSU closer to its DBU standard.