LSU's Corey Raymond lands No. 1 CB DJ Pickett
LSU secondary coach Corey Raymond is no stranger to pursuing the nation’s best cornerbacks, and the program’s decision to bring the longtime assistant and former Tiger back on staff paid off with a commitment from DJ Pickett.
On Wednesday evening, Raymond helped LSU land a commitment from Pickett, On3’s No. 1 cornerback prospect. The Tigers won out over a final group of Oregon and Miami.
“I wish them the best, but I’m at LSU now,” Pickett said after announcing his decision on the On3 Recruits YouTube channel. “If you are a DB, and Coach Raymond is at LSU, I feel that’s the right place to be at. That tells you everything right there.”
Pickett is ranked by On3 as the No. 1 player at his position and No. 3 overall prospect in the class.
LSU had been considered the longtime leader for Pickett after LSU’s hire of Raymond, which quickly led to a campus visit from the 5-star+ prospect. Over the next five months, Pickett would return to campus five times.
After a month of June filled with official visits, Pickett pushed up his decision date. Instead of waiting until October, he set the date for July 17.
While much of the public smoke surrounded Oregon and Miami, Raymond and LSU quietly continued to recruit Pickett and his family as they had the entire way. And in the end, the Tigers won out.
One major key: the ability for Pickett to be coached up by Raymond.
“Corey Raymond,” Damien Pickett, DJ’s father, told On3, adding that the Pickett family also has a connection with LSU legend Patrick Peterson, who has been present through LSU’s recruitment of the 5-star cornerback and was in Baton Rouge for Pickett’s official visit. “The defensive backs, the history of their defensive backs. The location. Baton Rouge is in a great location, the school is.
“Just the Corey Raymond factor. And it’s Defensive Back U. DBU. That’s a big factor for LSU. The fact they have developed so many DBs. Coach Raymond developed so many DBs at the school. The recruiting is in the pudding. There are so many greats that played at LSU. I’d say history as far as LSU.”
With Raymond back in Baton Rouge, and Pickett already familiar with LSU’s track record of defensive backs turning into NFL Draft picks, the Tigers were considered by many to be the team to beat entering the month of June. Now, LSU was able to get across the finish line as the team out front.
“I liked LSU before (Raymond) even got there, but once he left Florida and he went to LSU, it was a no-brainer to go visit and see how everything is,” Pickett said. “He said once I visit, I would love it.”
Raymond’s pitch was clear: the Tigers had to rebuild the cornerback room, and Pickett – the top-ranked cornerback in America – was a key piece to restoring “DBU”.
“I feel like they just need the right guys to come in there and change it around,” he said. “It only takes one year, then it starts rolling from there.”
For Pickett’s father, the decision to entrust his son’s football future in the hands of Raymond was an easy one.
“Corey Raymond is special,” he said.
