Tag: dj pickett

Pair of ‘most impactful’ uncommitted 2025 prospects favor Florida

The Gators are in the running for two of the remaining top 10 prospects in the 2025 cycle.

The 2025 recruiting cycle is steadily rising in crescendo ahead of the official visit season and the Florida Gators have been right in the mix when it comes to pursuing the top prep prospects in the land.

The Athletic’s senior writer Ari Wasserman recently put together his list of the 10 most impactful uncommitted prospects in the class, which included a pair of blue-chippers who are leaning toward the Orange and Blue.

Those two high school juniors are four-star quarterback [autotag]Antwann Hill[/autotag] out of Warner Robins (Georgia) Houston County and five-star cornerback [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag] out of Tampa (Florida) Zephyrhills.

Four-star QB Antwann Hill

“Quarterbacks come off the board faster than ever in modern-day recruiting. It happened again this year, with each of the top 10 quarterbacks in the country already having issued commitments before the summer,” Wasserman begins.

“Hill, the No. 11 quarterback nationally who was once committed to Colorado, is an interesting prospect with good size and a live arm. Hill has visited Florida a handful of times, and Memphis has emerged as a candidate, which is an interesting development in the recruitment of a top-100 quarterback. Texas A&M, Ole Miss and others are still very much in the mix.”

Five-star CB DJ Pickett

“Official visit season is coming, and no prospect is going to take advantage of it more than Pickett,” Wasserman notes.

“As of now, he has officials scheduled to Georgia, LSU, Oregon and Miami in the summer months. Those trips will go a long way in determining where his high-profile recruitment trends. Miami seems like an interesting team to watch here. The Hurricanes did a lot of work overhauling their roster this offseason through the portal, and now Miami fans are eager for some success on the field. If that happens, Mario Cristobal — a known closer in recruiting — will have an even better sales pitch to high-profile prospects like Pickett.

“With Nick Saban out of the picture and Alabama not as equipped to raid Florida anymore, this is a key window of opportunity for Cristobal to rebuild Miami into a power.”

Florida is currently ranked No. 39 overall in 247Sports’ 2025 team recruiting rankings.

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Florida lands official visit date for 5-star in-state 2025 cornerback

This big-time defensive back prospect will be in attendance for the Florida-Miami season opener.

Florida football added one of the best overall recruits in the 2025 cycle to its official visit slate on Friday evening. Two days ago, five-star cornerback [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag] and the UF staff were working on a date to visit Gainesville and the Gators quickly sealed the deal with a gameday stop.

The 6-foot-4-inch 180-pound defensive back has no shortage of suitors for his talents, making the coup a big one for the Orange and Blue. Billy Napier and Co. will get the coveted recruit on campus for the 2024 season opener against the Miami Hurricanes inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Pickett’s other official visits

This summer, Pickett will be making official visits with the LSU Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes and Oregon Ducks, respectively. He is also reportedly working on an OV with the Florida State Seminoles this fall as well.

Recruiting Summary

Pickett is ranked No. 7 overall and No. 3 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 6 and 2, respectively.

On3’s recruiting prediction machine now has Florida in he lead for his recruitment with a 19.9% chance of signing Pickett; Miami (15.3%), LSU (13.1%) and Georgia (9.4%) all follow close behind.

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5-star CB DJ Pickett to visit Oregon Ducks once again this month

5-star CB DJ Pickett will take another trip to Eugene later this month.

The Oregon Ducks seem to be in a really good spot when it comes to the recruitment of 5-star cornerback DJ Pickett.

The elite athlete from Tampa, Florida, has made several visits to Eugene before to meet with Dan Lanning and his staff, and he is expected to return once again this coming month, setting a visit for April 20th.

Ducks Wire first reported back at the end of January that Pickett was coming to campus for Oregon’s Junior Day, which took place shortly before the dead period began.

Pickett is rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 overall player in the 2025 class, and he is expected to take an official visit to Oregon on June 21st as well.

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On3 updates recruiting rankings for 2025 class with LSU leading the way

LSU now has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2025 according to On3.

On3 recently released an update to its 2025 recruiting class rankings. LSU now has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2025 according to On3.

The Tigers 2025 class is highlighted by two five-star players. [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], the No. 1 recruit in the country and possibly a future star quarterback, and [autotag]Dakorien Moore[/autotag], a five-star wide receiver who is the No. 1 player at his position.

Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson and Alabama join LSU to round out the top five in the recruiting rankings. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is not done getting recruits for that class either as the Tigers are in contention to land a lot more four-star players in the class, mostly from Louisiana.

Between the 2025 recruiting class out of high school and whoever Kelly pulls from the transfer portal, this could be one of the best recruiting classes LSU has ever had. [autotag]James Simon[/autotag], [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag], and [autotag]Jadyn Hudson[/autotag] are three more names to keep an eye on in that class.

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Michigan gets bad news on top overall target in 2025

Not great.

Sherrone Moore and his mostly revamped defensive coaching staff are hard at work on the recruiting trail trying to get Michigan back into consideration as an elite recruiter. Unfortunately, the staff received some unfortunate news regarding the recruitment of the top remaining player on the board with defensive back DJ Pickett announcing he would be focusing on six particular schools moving forward.

Pickett holds a grade of .9973 on to the 247Sports composite and is the seventh highest-rated player nationally. The Wolverines were fighting for the lead in Pickett’s recruitment for the past couple of months until the departures of Jim Harbaugh and Steve Clinkscale made him reconsider. It is unclear if the new staff reached out, but one would certainly hope recent DB coach hire LaMar Morgan made a move.

The battle for Pickett’s talent is far from over. Michigan may have been snubbed from his most recent update, but recruiting is an ever-shifting field and there will be plenty of chances to get back into his recruitment. Coach Morgan will need to be heavily involved, as will defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and Sherrone Moore himself. Pickett is a rare five-star talent who is not focused on NIL, and Michigan needs to capitalize on that. To make a Michigan commitment even more natural, Pickett’s mother is an alumnus and loves the idea of her son attending the same school.

Today was not all negative, however. Michigan secured a spot in Mark Zackery’s (top 150 prospect) top four schools so the cornerback board is far from drying up. Expect Michigan to push hard for Zackery, Dawayne Galloway, and Jahmari DeLoatch to fill out what could be a large cornerback class. Michigan could also get back into the recruitment of former commit Chris Ewald, who reopened his process shortly after the national championship game.

NEW: LSU makes the cut for elite 5-star safety who recently trimmed list

The Tigers have already landed the top quarterback, receiver and running back in 2025. Could they add the No. 1 safety, as well?

The No. 1 Safety in the 2025 recruiting class has trimmed his list of potential schools down to just five. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers made the cut.

LSU joins Oregon, Georgia, Michigan and Miami in the final five. There are currently no Crystal Ball projections for [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag]. Florida was a 25% favorite to land him per On3, but the Gators failed to make his top five, so it seems they are out.

Pickett is a 6-foot-3, 170-pound, five-star safety from Zephyrhills, Florida, where he plays for Zephyrhills High School. The Zephyrhills Bulldogs finished the 2023 season 8-4 with a loss to Vanguard in the second round of the 3 S state playoffs.

LSU already has the No. 1 quarterback, receiver and running back in the 2025 class. Adding to that with the No. 1 safety would just be more icing on the cake. Kelly has been doing a great job recruiting since arriving at LSU. Let’s see if he can pull off another master class.

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5-star safety DJ Pickett names top five schools

One of the best defensive backs in the class of 2025, DJ Pickett, has named his top five schools

Five-star safety recruit D.J. Pickett has announced his top five schools.  Pickett, who is a member of the class of 2025, plays football for Zephyrhills High School, which is located outside of Tampa, Florida.

Pickett plays both wide receiver and safety, but he is primarily considered a safety prospect. Pickett has explosive speed and takes long strides. He could also project as a cornerback at the next level.

The five-star runs track and also plays baseball and basketball. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound defensive back plans to play in the 2025 Under Armour All-America Game.

The lengthy safety is the No. 3 player at his position in the 2025 recruiting class. Pickett is the top-ranked player in Florida and the No. 7 player in the country in the 2025 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports.

Who are D.J. Pickett’s top schools?

5-star defensive back DJ Pickett puts Ducks in Top 5

The Oregon Ducks landed among the top schools for 5-star DB DJ Pickett.

The Oregon Ducks just put the final touches on their 2024 recruiting class by adding 5-star wide receiver Gatlin Bair, but recruiting is also starting to ramp up for the class of 2025. On Friday, DJ Pickett, an elite DB in the class of 2025, named Oregon as one of his top five schools.

Pickett isn’t just one of the best defensive backs in the class of 2025 he’s one of the best players. 247 Sports Composite ranks him as the No. 8 player in the country and the No. 3 cornerback in his class. At 6’4″ Pickett brings elite size, but he also runs a sub-11 second 100-meter dash, giving him plenty of speed.

Among Pickett’s other top schools are the Georgia Bulldogs and Miami Hurricanes. Pickett is from Zephyrhills, Florida (just outside of Orlando), so Miami and Georgia would afford him the opportunity to stay close to home. Georgia has also been the home of some of the best DB talent in college football in recent years, which will make it an attractive candidate for Pickett.

If the Ducks are to land Pickett, he’ll have a chance to make an instant impact. After next season, Oregon will lose Tysheem Johnson and Kobe Savage at safety and Jabbar Muhammad and Kam Alexander at CB, so Pickett would likely have opportunities to see the field as a freshman.

Social media reactions pour in from blue-chip visitors in Eugene over the weekend

Some of the top-ranked recruits who were on campus in Eugene reacted to their visit with the Oregon Ducks at Junior Day.

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks coaching staff stayed busy over the weekend, hosting some of the top-ranked players in the nation in both the 2025 and 2026 classes.

There were several five-star players on campus, from wide receiver Dakorien Moore and safety DJ Pickett to quarterback Jared Curtis and tight end Brock Harris. After the weekend came to an end, players started to give their reactions on social media, posting pictures with coaches and from the popular uniform photoshoot as well, raving about the time spent in Eugene.

Here’s a look at some of the top reactions from recruits who were on campus this past weekend:

Elite 5-star 2025 Florida safety sets official visit with LSU

The Tigers are looking to add to their already strong 2025 class.

The Tigers already have commitments from the top quarterback, running back and receiver in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Now, they’ll be hosting the No. 1 safety for a visit, as well.

Zephyrhills (Fla.) five-star safety [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag] told On3 he will be taking the trip to Baton Rouge on Jan. 30. Pickett is a top-10 prospect nationally and the top recruit in the state of Florida.

No clear favorites have emerged so far for Pickett. He doesn’t hold any Crystal Ball predictions, and though Florida leads the way on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, it sits at just 26.1% followed by Michigan at 13.2%.

The Tigers will hope they can make up some of that ground when Pickett is on campus this coming week.

LSU’s 2025 class currently ranks first nationally per the On3 industry rankings and second on the 247Sports Composite.

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