LSU entering the sweepstakes for 2025 5-star safety DJ Pickett

LSU is dominating the recruiting trail so far in the 2025 cycle. The Tigers’ class easily clears as the best in the nation in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings at the end of January.

Quarterback Bryce Underwood is the No. 1 overall prospect in the cycle. Dakorien Moore is the No. 4 recruit and top-ranked wide receiver. Harlem Berry is the top-ranked running back and the No. 1 player in Louisiana. All three are committed to the Tigers.

That’s not all, either. An additional seven players are already in the fold — six of whom are four-stars. New Iberia (La.) Westgate four-star cornerback Jaboree Antoine — a top-50 recruit — and Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist four-star IOL Devin Harper — a top-200 recruit — have each committed in the last week.

So, has LSU already done most of its heavy lifting on the trail this cycle? Not quite. There are still plenty of high-profile prospects on the board who have interest in the Tigers. That includes Zephyrhills (Fla.) five-star safety DJ Pickett.

The top-ranked player at his position will be in Baton Rouge for a visit this week. He told On3’s Chad Simmons that plenty of the interest in the SEC program stems from former Florida defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, who is now at LSU.

Tigers jumping into a crowded race for Pickett

“We had not heard them mention a guy like DJ Pickett yet — and he’s the No. 1 safety in the country,” LSU insider Shea Dixon said on The Inside Scoop. “Corey Raymond moves over to LSU from Florida, he immediately went out and offered a lot of those guys at LSU and Pickett is the first one who says ‘alright, i’m ready to go ahead and lock in a visit.’ He’s made a number of visits here recently, but he will be at LSU this week. That’s big-time, immediately seeing some dividends pay off on the recruiting trail.”

The race for Pickett is loaded. Florida, FSU, Miami, Clemson, Oregon and Georgia are all programs that figure to have a hat on the table when the time comes for his decision. With the momentum that LSU currently carries, however, the Tigers can’t be ruled out for any major prospect in the 2025 cycle.

“The big three in Florida have been after him, I know Florida has been the leader in the On3 RPM, Michigan’s in this race, he was going to go see Oregon. He’s a guy who, obviously being a No. 1 player, will get recruited coast to coast, but to make a hire at secondary coach with a guy like Raymond, to know they have that prior relationship, I think will be a big deal — at least in terms of getting in this race,” Dixon said.

Pickett is the No. 7 overall prospect in the cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 1 safety and the top-ranked player in Florida.

He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $178K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.