Zephyrhills (Fla.) Five-Star Plus+ cornerback DJ Pickett had originally planned to wait until October to announce his commitment.
The nation’s No. 1 CB wanted to see his top schools in action before he made a final call. But Pickett is ready to have his decision off his plate before his senior season begins, and will announce his commitment on July 17, Pickett’s father, Damien, confirmed to On3’s Steve Wiltfong.
He’ll choose between LSU, Oregon, Georgia and Miami — all schools he took official visits to this summer.
Heading into the official visits, the Tigers, Ducks and Hurricanes stood as the top three programs in his recruitment, and intel suggests that has remained the same.
Despite being across the country from his home in central Florida, the Ducks have continued to impress Pickett and his family.
“Oregon has a lot of resources, and it’s somewhere I feel like I can be successful at,” he said at the On3 Elite Series in Nashville in May. “That’s a long ways from home, but I’d have less distractions. And it’s an opportunity to get to play early, and everybody in the building, they’re just really cool people. They’ve got the connection with Nike, and after school is over I could get more into the Nike business. They have all the resources, in my opinion.
… They’re about their business, and they take the defensive side serious. They’re prepared, and they do everything well.”
Strong connections at LSU and Miami will key factors as well
One of Pickett’s longest-tenured relationships is in Baton Rouge, with defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, who recruited him first at Florida and now for the Tigers.
“Coach Raymond is good guy, and the environment of the school I like,” Pickett said. “I really like Baton Rouge and what they can do for me on an off the field. Their fans care about their players, and it’s somewhere you can build you brand. A lot of people care for LSU, and it’s DBU, too.”
As for the Hurricanes, that’s the program he’s geographically closest to, and he has relationships from top to bottom in Coral Gables.
“Miami is the home team right now,” he said. “Miami is Miami. My cousin is there, I have family ties there. It’s another place where I can build my brand and do what I want to do on and off the field. It’s also somewhere I can play early. Coach Cristobal, he played there and he’s from Miami so he actually takes pride in what he has going on there. And he’s trying to bring “The U” back. The players already on the team, I see how they practice and they believe in what he has going in.”
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are still battling ahead of his commitment but appear to have some ground to make up on the other three.
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