From the MJS. Have the Badgers shown any interest?
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'He's a Power 5 kid': Milwaukee Riverside junior Jaiden Pickett may be the state's best-kept recruiting secret
Curt Hogg
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Jaiden Pickett stands on the practice field behind Milwaukee Riverside High School and removes his helmet to reveal an ear-to-ear grin.
He thinks about how long it has been since he and his Riverside teammates took the field for a game — 21 months — and how it’s felt even longer. But, now, the wait is almost over.
“I’ve been waiting on this,” Pickett says. “A week away. I’m happy.”
Riverside and all other Milwaukee Public Schools teams didn’t have a 2020 season, as the district canceled fall sports due to COVID-19. The schools didn’t partake in the alternate fall season in the spring, either.
“It was real tough,” Pickett said. “It ate me up on the inside seeing a lot of schools that had a season just down the road from us.”
MPS teams are back for the 2021 season, and while some are having more issues than normal with being able to field a full varsity team, Riverside is not among those and has its first game Friday against Pewaukee. Its roster is roughly 80 players deep, and among those, Pickett stands out, bursting off the line of scrimmage, his quick strides getting him past blockers and to the quarterback in a blur.
It can be difficult to marry hype without the on-field production or the film to accompany it, which is why Pickett’s junior season will be a pivotal one.
“It’s most definitely a big year,” Pickett said. “If people knew who I was, it’d be a different story right now. A lot of people don’t know, but when they do know, they’ll see.”
What Pickett does have going for him, though, is his physical prowess.
“College coaches, that’s a legitimate thing, is the eye test,” Riverside head coach Patrick Wagner said. “Are you put together, how do you move? They look at him and they go, ‘Yeah you pass the eye test.’”
Unable to put anything on game film to send to college coaches or even work out at the school for most of the last 17 months, Pickett has been working on improving behind the scenes. He has added 20 pounds of muscle, become much more explosive and gotten on Big Ten colleges’ radars thanks to impressive camp showings.
“It’s just been perfecting my craft,” he said.
Wagner has a way of telling, as he puts it, when a kid is “just different than the rest.” He knew it with Brandon Brooks, a three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, and Eric Murray, who is entering his sixth NFL season, when they were both at Riverside. He could tell with Amaun Williams, now a defensive back at Wisconsin. And he saw it early in Pickett.
“It’s how the kid is thinking and behaving off the field,” Wagner said. “With (Pickett’s) case, I knew he was different when, in eighth grade, he signed into Riverside. It’s just how he acts and how he thinks about things. He’s got the drive and the football sense to be really special.”
After Pickett’s freshman season, he went to a camp at UW-Whitewater with Wagner and a few teammates. Afterward, when Wagner was conversing with the Warhawks staff, he asked what they thought of Pickett.
“There’s no way we can touch Pickett, coach,” they responded. “He’s a Power 5 kid.”
“It’s a great skill to have,” Pickett said. “You have to be versatile in every way. I consider myself a football player above all, so coach can put me anywhere and I’m there. To do it you need a lot of coach’s trust and a lot of confidence. You’ve got to do whatever you’ve got to do to get the job done.”
The returns on Pickett have been fruitful in practice, but going up against a scout offense is far different from what he will see when teams game plan for him on Fridays. Without much varsity experience, either, he will have plenty to learn on the
“He is so quick,” Wagner said. “We’re a pistol team now. He’s getting back there by the time the QB catches the ball and turns around for a handoff. It will be interesting how he does once it’s a game. But when he goes against someone, he’s explosive and quick, and that’s tough to guard one-on-one.”
With the type of junior year the Tigers expect out of him, Pickett could go from a relative unknown to the next big-time player from the City Conference. For now, he’s smiling, happy to be back playing football and giving a warning of what’s to come.
“I’m a very physical and aggressive player,” Pickett said. “I’m tough. I’m a ballhawk so don’t throw it my way. Don’t run my way. Wherever I’m at, don’t go to that side.”
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'He's a Power 5 kid': Milwaukee Riverside junior Jaiden Pickett may be the state's best-kept recruiting secret
Curt Hogg
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Jaiden Pickett stands on the practice field behind Milwaukee Riverside High School and removes his helmet to reveal an ear-to-ear grin.
He thinks about how long it has been since he and his Riverside teammates took the field for a game — 21 months — and how it’s felt even longer. But, now, the wait is almost over.
“I’ve been waiting on this,” Pickett says. “A week away. I’m happy.”
Riverside and all other Milwaukee Public Schools teams didn’t have a 2020 season, as the district canceled fall sports due to COVID-19. The schools didn’t partake in the alternate fall season in the spring, either.
“It was real tough,” Pickett said. “It ate me up on the inside seeing a lot of schools that had a season just down the road from us.”
MPS teams are back for the 2021 season, and while some are having more issues than normal with being able to field a full varsity team, Riverside is not among those and has its first game Friday against Pewaukee. Its roster is roughly 80 players deep, and among those, Pickett stands out, bursting off the line of scrimmage, his quick strides getting him past blockers and to the quarterback in a blur.
Pickett has plenty to prove
Few players have more to gain from the upcoming season than Pickett, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior who can line up and play almost anywhere on the field.It can be difficult to marry hype without the on-field production or the film to accompany it, which is why Pickett’s junior season will be a pivotal one.
“It’s most definitely a big year,” Pickett said. “If people knew who I was, it’d be a different story right now. A lot of people don’t know, but when they do know, they’ll see.”
What Pickett does have going for him, though, is his physical prowess.
“College coaches, that’s a legitimate thing, is the eye test,” Riverside head coach Patrick Wagner said. “Are you put together, how do you move? They look at him and they go, ‘Yeah you pass the eye test.’”
Unable to put anything on game film to send to college coaches or even work out at the school for most of the last 17 months, Pickett has been working on improving behind the scenes. He has added 20 pounds of muscle, become much more explosive and gotten on Big Ten colleges’ radars thanks to impressive camp showings.
“It’s just been perfecting my craft,” he said.
Wagner has a way of telling, as he puts it, when a kid is “just different than the rest.” He knew it with Brandon Brooks, a three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, and Eric Murray, who is entering his sixth NFL season, when they were both at Riverside. He could tell with Amaun Williams, now a defensive back at Wisconsin. And he saw it early in Pickett.
“It’s how the kid is thinking and behaving off the field,” Wagner said. “With (Pickett’s) case, I knew he was different when, in eighth grade, he signed into Riverside. It’s just how he acts and how he thinks about things. He’s got the drive and the football sense to be really special.”
After Pickett’s freshman season, he went to a camp at UW-Whitewater with Wagner and a few teammates. Afterward, when Wagner was conversing with the Warhawks staff, he asked what they thought of Pickett.
“There’s no way we can touch Pickett, coach,” they responded. “He’s a Power 5 kid.”
A disruptive defensive force
The Tigers will play Pickett at defensive end this fall because that’s where they feel he can disrupt a game the most. He also can play linebacker due to his size and played safety for his 7-on-7 team in the off-season.“It’s a great skill to have,” Pickett said. “You have to be versatile in every way. I consider myself a football player above all, so coach can put me anywhere and I’m there. To do it you need a lot of coach’s trust and a lot of confidence. You’ve got to do whatever you’ve got to do to get the job done.”
The returns on Pickett have been fruitful in practice, but going up against a scout offense is far different from what he will see when teams game plan for him on Fridays. Without much varsity experience, either, he will have plenty to learn on the
“He is so quick,” Wagner said. “We’re a pistol team now. He’s getting back there by the time the QB catches the ball and turns around for a handoff. It will be interesting how he does once it’s a game. But when he goes against someone, he’s explosive and quick, and that’s tough to guard one-on-one.”
With the type of junior year the Tigers expect out of him, Pickett could go from a relative unknown to the next big-time player from the City Conference. For now, he’s smiling, happy to be back playing football and giving a warning of what’s to come.
“I’m a very physical and aggressive player,” Pickett said. “I’m tough. I’m a ballhawk so don’t throw it my way. Don’t run my way. Wherever I’m at, don’t go to that side.”
