You Asked for it, You Got it: No.2 Jersey to Get No.1 Jersey Status

Submitted by MGoShoe on

According to A2.com's Kyle Meinke, Brady Hoke intends to begin reserving the number 2 jersey for the top Michigan cornerback. Also, no one will wear the number 1 jersey this year.

The first-year head coach said Friday at the Big Ten media days in Chicago he not only will continue the tradition of handing out the No. 1 jersey to Michigan’s top receiver, but hopes to institute a similar decorum for the No. 2 jersey.

He would like to save that number for Michigan’s top cornerback.

Hoke, who coached on that 1997 team’s defensive staff, was asked if any of Michigan’s talented wideouts would wear the No. 1 this year.

“No, they gotta earn it,” Hoke said. “And they’re going to have to earn No. 2, after (Vincent Smith) is gone.”

Mr Mackey

July 29th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^

IMO, this is a much better way to honor a player than retiring his jersey. Now, every time a player earns #2, we'll see him making plays and think, "Wow, just like Woodson used to do" or "Man, Woodson was better than this guy.."

Next year: Roy Roundtree #1, Blake Countess #2?

PurpleStuff

July 29th, 2011 at 2:36 PM ^

Since this is the point in his career where Braylon got to wear #1 (start of his junior season), it is interesting to see what both he and Roundtree had accomplished at this point in their careers.

Roundtree: 104 catches, 1,369 yards, 10 TD

Edwards:     70 catches, 1,073 yards, 10 TD

And it isn't like Edwards never dropped a pass in his career.  Roundtree took a redshirt year so it isn't exactly apples to apples but it is odd to see how differently the two players are perceived due to factors that aren't necessarily performance related.

PurpleStuff

July 29th, 2011 at 2:53 PM ^

Just pointing out that the next two years look very promising for Roundtree, despite a big perception gap between what he's done and what Braylon had accomplished at the same point in his career (when there was virtually no doubt that Braylon had "earned" the #1 jersey).

jbibiza

July 29th, 2011 at 5:18 PM ^

Comparing Braylon's 2 year stats to Rountree's is misleading.  I have not looked up the numbers but I clearly remember that Braylon had very little impact as a freshman partly because he was "not on the same page" with Lloyd, and also the former policy of not throwing to freshman wideouts.  He burst onto the scene with a tremendous year as a sophomore (wearing #80) and part of the motivation was to get the #1 jersey.  Roy on the other hand had pretty good numbers as a redshirt freshman to add to his strong sophomore year, but nothing like Braylon's sophomore production.

 

PurpleStuff

July 29th, 2011 at 7:25 PM ^

Roundtree: 72 catches, 935 yards, 7 TD

Braylon:  67 catches, 1,035 yards, 10 TD

The gap isn't all that great (and both did it over a 13 game season).  Add in the fact that Braylon's offense threw the ball a little more and Roundtree was splitting catches with 2-3 other productive wideouts (Hemingway, Stonum, and Odoms when healthy) while Bennie Joppru was the second leading receiver on that 2002 team, and the numbers are pretty darn close.  You are right that Braylon basically did nothing as a freshman and that accounts for the overall difference, but Roundtree really didn't get a shot until late in the year at which point he put up 3 or 4 very productive games to close out the season.

Mr Mackey

July 29th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^

True, but can we not have a DB and RB with the same number? I was under the assumption they just can't be on the field at the same time (see: Hayes & Avery, Hawthorne & Gardner, T. Robinson & Countess, Clark & Mealer, Herron & Bryant, Shaw & Carter, Hemingway & Taylor, etc.)

Raoul

July 29th, 2011 at 3:12 PM ^

That may be the case, but Hoke specifically said it wouldn't happen until after Smith departs:

“No, they gotta earn it,” Hoke said. “And they’re going to have to earn No. 2, after (Vincent Smith) is gone.”

I think the intention is to have only one player (the top defensive back) wear no. 2, which means no one on the offense will be able to wear it after Smith is gone.

PurpleStuff

July 29th, 2011 at 1:56 PM ^

Something that happened one time isn't a "tradition".  If Hoke thinks reserving the number can motivate a guy/guys to play better then so be it (it definitely seemed to have a positive effect on Braylon's productivity), but it isn't like the practice is some cornerstone of Michigan football history.

PurpleStuff

July 29th, 2011 at 2:06 PM ^

If you mean, "some guy who was pretty good wore that number", then pretty much every number is a "tradition" at Michigan.  "Earning the #1 jersey" is not a tradition.  The best player at the position in school history (Desmond) never wore #1.  It is something Lloyd Carr used to motivate Braylon Edwards.  That is it.  Everyone else who wore it got to wear it from day one, and some of them weren't all that great at playing football. 

Brimley

July 29th, 2011 at 2:35 PM ^

I saw Anthony Carter play live, and in a far less pass-oriented scheme than was being used when Des was around.  AC was an astonishing talent.  No Heisman, granted, but it'd be pretty easy to make the case he was the best WR to take the field for Mich.  When a WR takes on the 1, in my mind he's trying to meet AC's very high standard.  And that works for me.

Cope

July 29th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^

you deserve all due respect as a veteran fan of the team. Wish I could've seen that too. But six wide receivers, dating back to 1979 and Anthony Carter, I'd say, is a tradition. That's where it started. Heck even the Michigan football website calls it the most coveted jersey number in Michigan football [lore] on its tradition page:
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/021910aad.html

Guttman

July 29th, 2011 at 3:30 PM ^

I'm not sure that "weren't all that great. . ." bit is true for post-AC #1s. . .and yes, yes, Butterfield did save at least one game for us single-handedly.

Er, I guess it was double-handedly, now that I think about it.  Best drop in UM Football history.

Tha Quiet Storm

July 29th, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^

So basically #2 will become like #1 where there is talk of someone getting it every year, but no one ever actually gets it. 

My suggestion would be to hire an official MGoNumerologist/Tarot Reader/Astrologer to give each incoming freshman a personal consultation and assign each of them a number based on a complex pseudoscientific formula and/or process.

BRCE

July 29th, 2011 at 4:22 PM ^

Braylon's been gone seven years. For crying out loud, what standard is being held for someone to "earn it"?

If Manningham's 2006 season didn't qualify, I don't know what does.

BlueGoM

July 29th, 2011 at 9:01 PM ^

Honestly I think things are getting a bit out of hand with this whole jersey thing.  It wasn't even a tradition until Braylon asked for the jersey and Carr told him to earn it.

I think the #1/2 jersey should be given to a senior WR/CB who's shown good  leadership, scholarship  and work ethic, in addition to on-field performance.   I'd like to see who gets to wear it each year, which senior gets the honor, even if he hasn't broken records on the field.