There seems to be a slight problem in the Michigan roster.
Derrick Green wore #27 in high school and cites Eddie George (who also wore #27) as his favorite player. When Green committed, he had a #27 jersey on the wall behind the projector screen.
Slight problem: walk-on wide receiver Jonathan Keizer has a claim to #27, according to mgoblue.com.
So, what number does Derrick Green wear? I hope this doesn't become a big problem. We were able to get Pipkins to wear #56 like he wanted. Hopefully we can do the same here.
Any thoughts?
UPDATE!:
After doing some research, I've found that you can have duplicate numbers on a roster, but not on the same side of the ball. This is why #27 LB Mike Jones (who is a scholarship athlete) would not have to forfeit his number and is irrelevant to this discussion.
If you look at Michigan's roster, there are no duplicate numbers on offense. There is no evidence to suggest that, as some posited, two players can have the same numbers on offense as long as one stays off the field. I don't where you guys found that rule, but I'd be curious to see it.
I also found that, despite Hoke's statement that he treats all the players equally ("our 115 sons"), scholarship athletes always get preference to walk-ons. The most likely scenario here is that Keizer would be reassigned a number and Green would wear #27.
I had hoped that this thread would become a discussion about what numbers Green could possibly wear instead of #27 in the event that Hoke decides to let Keizer keep the number (a definite possibility, and don't be surprised if you see it happen).
Instead, this largely became a ridiculing of the original post's premise, whether or not player numbers need to be discussed on the board, and the implication that Green might transfer if not granted #27 (which is fine, mea culpa on that last one).
Really, this is worthy of a board topic? Pretty sure Green will talk to Keizer about it, and pretty sure Keizer will let Green have the number for the appropriate number of Chipotle burritos.
"It would be a travesty, it would be ridiculous to all of a sudden come back and get the feeling back, get the health back, feel good again and then all of a sudden go throw some other colors on my shirt and go coach."