Jayden Daniels left LSU with a Heisman Trophy, a mountain of records, and one of the best individual seasons the program has seen from a QB. So much so that his No. 5 became closely connected to that 2023 campaign. But two years after Daniels left Baton Rouge, the number is back on the field. Now, it belongs to freshman All-American cornerback DJ Pickett. That has created a dispute, as Daniels sent a cease-and-desist to LSU.

One former Tiger did not seem particularly interested in sitting on the fence. Breiden Fehoko, a part of the Tigers’ 2019 national championship team, didn’t like how Daniels responded to his number being handed to another player.

“I say this in no form of disrespect to JD as a fellow Tiger. You not on the same level as Joey B (Joe Burrow),” Fehoko wrote on X on August 12.

The issue became public after ESPN reported that Daniels’ representatives sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter over the continued use of his name, image, and likeness in connection with the No. 5 jersey. Daniels’ side reportedly objected after Lane Kiffin gave Pickett the number. His camp argued that no player has yet received Joe Burrow’s 2019 jersey number. However, that hasn’t happened to his #5. Even though both are Heisman winners.

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There is some obvious history behind Fehoko’s claim. He was part of the 2019 LSU team that went 15-0 and won the national championship. So, he saw Burrow’s season up close. That team did not merely win games. It went through the SEC undefeated, won the conference championship, and then beat Oklahoma and Clemson in the playoff. As for Burrow, he finished that run with numbers that still look almost fictional. He threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns while completing 76.3% of his passes.

“You guys keep looking at stats and a trophy. If you weren’t in Baton Rouge circa 2019, then you have no idea the impact #9 had on the city,” Fehoko doubled down on criticism on his X post. “The streets, the communities, the kids, the economy. All of that. More than football, the lifestyle for just a little changed in Baton Rouge.”

Daniels had his own ridiculous statistical season four years later after Burrow. In 2023, he completed 72.2% of his passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. He also ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns. That gave him 4,946 yards of total offense and 50 touchdowns, numbers that helped him beat out Michael Penix Jr. and Marvin Harrison Jr. for the Heisman Trophy. However, his team couldn’t even secure a playoff spot.

In all, Daniels gave LSU another Heisman, but his team did not win the SEC or national championship. Comparing the two players therefore becomes much more complicated when the entire team’s achievements are placed beside their individual statistics. Interestingly, LSU has not retired No. 5 for Daniels.

Moreover, the school’s policy does not make a Heisman Trophy an automatic trigger for jersey retirement. According to the program, a player must have completed his career at least five years earlier before becoming eligible. However, Joe Burrow’s #9 jersey is the core of the argument for Daniels. That’s also what former LSU head coach Brian Kelly relayed to ESPN on Wednesday.

“I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” Kelly said. “We didn’t want to issue No. 9, so you can’t treat one differently from the other.”