LSU secured a major win on the recruiting trail Wednesday by landing five-star cornerback DJ Pickett, the No. 9 ranked player in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports. Pickett picked LSU over Oregon and Miami in an eleventh hour decision to help the Tigers jump in the top-5 of the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings.
The Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class now sits at No. 4 in the cycle behind Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia. LSU jumped Georgia and Oregon after landing the third-ranked cornerback in the class out of Zephyrhills High School in Tampa, Florida.
247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins describes Pickett as a rare, black-swan type of athlete. Pickett has tremendous size at 6-foot-4, with a reported 6-foot-8 wingspan. He mostly plays safety for Zephryhills but is projected as a cornerback in college. One snippet from Ivins’ scouting report on Pickett evokes shades of former LSU defensive back greats.
Has what it takes to emerge as a true game-breaker on offense with his size and foot speed, but the ability to generate turnovers with his advanced ball skills while also mirroring in reverse makes him an intriguing option in both man and off-coverage.
Pickett is the second top-10 player to commit to LSU this cycle, joining five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class. LSU also has commitments from four-star RB Harlem Berry, four-star edge Damien Shanklin, four-star edge LaJesse Harrold and four-star IOL Devin Harper.
LSU finished with the No. 9 recruiting class in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
