Roy Roundtree to wear #21
Per http://www.twitter.com/umichfootball
For everyone bagging on me for my sig, it may not be the #1 jersey but it's the next best thing.
Congrats Roy!
Michigan Football @umichfootball
"I am very pleased that Roy will be wearing the number 21 this year." - @DesmondHoward
MGoBlue Release: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/051812aaa.html
if you don't recall, the # has been designated a "michigan legend" in honor of desmond.
...some Desmond Howard and Junior Hemingway pixie dust will rub off on him.
Your signature isn't completely wrong...
He gets partial credit.
So is the #21 a stepping stone for the #1 jersey, or am I wrong? I guess the best reciever on the team will wear #21, but if the reciever can become legendary he will wear #1?
help.
I believe that Braylon Edwards (possibly through language written into the scholarship that he set up) has a say in who can wear No. 1...But, yes, I believe that receiving No. 21 means you're awesome, while receiving No. 1 means you're super-awesome.
Here is what needs to happen:
#1 Jersey: Best player on the team
#2 Jersey (Woodson patch): Elite DB
#21 Jersey (Desmond patch): Elite WR
#87 Jersey (Ron Kramer patch): Elite TE
#11 Jersey (Wistert brothers patch): Elite DT
#48 Jersey (Gerald Ford patch): Elite Center
#47 Jersey (Bennie Oosterbaan patch): Elite DE
#98 Jersey (Tom Harmon patch): Elite RB
Dave Brandon openly said that in the future he is going to get the approval of the families of the players whose number is retired, so they can be honored as a Michigan Football Legend and have a patch. I think it's a great idea.
getting star RBs to wear #98
Why do you say that? Tom Harmon is a legend. I don't think it will be completely out of the ordinary for RB's to want to wear #98 if they make a legend patch for the number and take it out of retirement.
I don't think that anyone who knows what Tom Harmon mean to Michigan wouldn't think of it as a complete honor to wear the number on the field at Michigan. I mean the man was the first Heisman winner at Michigan, and got a freaking Purple Heart in WWII. What more of a selling point do you need?
Not many 17 year olds are going to know (or care) who Tom Harmon is.
What he said. These kids care far less about it than we do. Granted, maybe a 4th or 5th year RB at Michigan might have developed enough fondness for the specifics of tradition, but lots of these kids also want to put their stamp on Michigan history. From my experience with sports the high numbers aren't so popular (aside from 69, cause well obviously, and 99, Gretzky). Even those exceptions are not very prevalent.
In fact, none will be. Because they're freshman, and not stars. The earliest they could be offerred the patch would be sophomore year, by which time they will have been indoctrinated into the culture.
I know Harmon's "old news" but he's one our only heisman trophy winners. I've got to believe that every sophomore knows who he is, and if not every junior/senior at least.
of doing this legends patch type program is to help teach our incoming football players and our ongoing football teams about the history and accomplishments of those who came before them so that they identify themselves as Michigan Team no. 133 and see themselves as the proud bearers of an ongoing story and tradition.....
Dont think its actually possible to get star RBs to wear #98.
From wiki, numberings of offensive players from the NCAA rulebook:
Backs 1-49 Snapper 50-59 Guard 60-69 Tackle 70-79 End 80-99
How many #98 RBs do you remember from the last decade?
Isn't there a rule that all OL #'s have to be between 50's to 79? Ford's 48 may be tough to get by.
11, 47, 48, 87, and 98 are retired numbers.
Dave Brandon openly said he is going to eventually get permission of the families of the players whose numbers are retired, and honor them as a Legend.
So will Taylor Lewan wear the #1 jersey next year? He'll be the best player.
Until someone can make Ohio fans give him a standing ovation in Columbus, Ol' 98 should still be retired.
I also think Braylon endowing the Number 1 jersey makes me devalue it just a bit ..... Strangely happy to see Roy rep the 21 over the 1.
Hmmmm..I think the probability of Denard wearing #1 this year just got increased.
Roundtree never had a shot at the #1. If he wore it, after Hemmingway, Matthews, Manningham, and Avant didn't, I'd be pissed.
Agreed that he never had a shot after last season. What I am thinking is that #21 is going to be given out to the best WR (most likely Junior/Senior) and #1 will transition to the best player on the team (again, most likely Junior/Senior). Just speculation on my part...but it kind of makes sense instead of having TWO "special #s" both for wide receivers.
Wouldn't be a quasi-insult to Desmond to give his honored number to the 2nd best receiver on the team. That just doesn't feel very honorary.
Except how do you pick the best player on a football team like Michigan? Everyone's role is completely different and judging from the way we're recruiting it's likely that most of those roles will be filled by someone pretty damn good. There's no way to fairly assess who is best. Bad idea.
One thought I had was about how the team has its awards banquet after the season.
The #1 could go to a junior-turning-senior, who is voted team MVP by his peers - which coincidentally applies to Denard.
This of course, is pure bullshit speculation
Sometimes it is pretty easy to pick the best player on a football team like Michigan, sometimes it's not. This year it is easy to pick the best player on Michigan. You don't have to give out the #1 every single year, but this year, if Denard wants #1, I would be for it.
let him stay #16 since he's already on the cusp of turning that number itself into something special for future players to wear. I mean, just think of a player 10 years from now being able to say he wore #16 just like John Nava.....errr...Denard!!!
I don't think 21 was "special" when it was given to Desmond. He made it special.
Just like 2 wasn't very special until Woodson won the Heisman in it.
If Butterfield can don the #1, anyone can.
Game changing
Greg Mathews deserved the #1 jersey like Kirstie Alley deserves to be on cover of the SI Swimsuit edition. Here's proof.
This seems to suggest that the team's top receiver every year will get the #21. I guess that's fine, since there's already a number to denote an extraordinary WR.
that would give the jersey to Gallon. Roy was a great slot, but has yet to prove he is even an average WR when forced to go up against CBs. The fact that any WR is wearing 21 this year really surprises me.
I'd prefer not to have the jersey switching hands on an annual basis. Let someone have a career with it.
Not knowing that you were the OP, I thought of your sig immediately when I saw the title of this post. Good call.
Read an article a while back about how the #1 jersey thing is getting a little out of hand as far as what the criteria are. The longer we go without having someone wear it, the harder it becomes for someone to be worthy of it. Also with all of the hype surrounding it, I worry that it might go against the team mentality/hurt the psyche of the other receivers. It's become a tougher situation than it ever should have with the whole endowment thing and all the hype about Hoke bringing it back. I would like to see someone get it sooner rather than later, even if that player is not necessarily a top 5 receiver in college like the past #1s.
The following is the list of all of the Michigan receivers who have worn No. 1. Not all of them were world-beaters.
Anthony Carter (1979-82); Greg McMurtry (1986-89); Derrick Alexander (1990-93); Tyrone Butterfield (1994-96), David Terrell (1998-2000); Braylon Edwards (2003-04).
Yeah, all the other guys were good/great WRs. Butterfield actually was a blue-chip recruit (which is why he got the jersey) but just didn't pan out.
I don't get the sense that anyone is striving for the No. 1 like the endowment intended for because it somewhat unattainable. Any player who has ever talked about it refers to it as something they would be honored to recieve but not something they focus on.... It does seem like the 21 is the new 1.
I LOVE this move. Roundtree deserved something, but he's obviously not even close to deserving the famed #1 jersey. I think the #21 is more about being a leader and having a deep love for the school, which I really think Roundtree has right now. Hemingway and Desmond obviously both had that (not that Hemingway was really selected), but Roundtree continues that tradition.
Wearing the #1 jersey as a WR was made "important" by a bitching Braylon Edwards.
Wearing the #21 jersey as a WR was made important by the football program.
I know which number is more prestigious in my eyes.
What Hoke should do is give JT Floyd the #1 jersey.
I wouldn't say Braylon made it important. It was a big deal before he wore it - so much so that Carr made him "earn" the jersey.