Legends Jerseys - #1 to Roundtree to End the Year?

Submitted by yzerman19 on

Since we are giving out Legends' Jersey Patches this late in the season to seniors like Kovacs, what say we give Roy Roundtree the #1 jersey for the last three games of his career (maybe four if something crazy happens)? Is it an insult to Desmond and the 21 patch to do so?

Darker Blue

November 12th, 2012 at 9:35 AM ^

I think Roy is probably more deserving of wearing the #1 jersey, then some of the previous wearers. I'm looking at you Tyrone Butterfield. 

 

EDIT: However at this point in the season, just leave it alone. 

jmblue

November 12th, 2012 at 11:13 AM ^

It wasn't attached to an endowed scholarship before Braylon, but it definitely was a tradition before then.  It's only been worn by wide receivers over the past 30 years: Carter, McMurtry, Alexander, Butterfield, Terrell, and Edwards.

Butterfield was actually a blue-chip recruit and was given the number as a freshman, possibly as a recruiting promise.  The concept of "earning" the jersey didn't exist then, but it was understood that only a receiver would wear it.

 

Seth

November 12th, 2012 at 12:15 PM ^

I would disagree. It didn't have a scholarship attached to it before Braylon created it, and didn't have the "you make grades and work harder than anyone else in the group" tag until Carr made that a motivation for Edwards, but David Terrell requested it because of Carter and Alexander, and just from fan memory I felt it had meaning then. Even when it was just Carter's number it had meaning because it was the number of one of the greatest college football players ever.

inthebluelot

November 12th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^

Afterall, nobody wearing #1 has ever won a Heisman. And, one could argue that Desmond was the best receiver in Michigan History. No disrespect to Carter, but the other #1s did not have the career that Desmond had, and the last guy to wear the #1 had a pretty mediocre career until he was a junior and was known more for his key drops and discipline issues than anything until the Braylon game happened.

jmblue

November 12th, 2012 at 2:53 PM ^

That's not a fair way to evaluate them.  Winning the Heisman is dependent on a lot of factors, including team success and whether or not there are other Heisman-caliber players out there.  In Desmond's year, there were no other clear rivals for the Heisman, so he won easily.

Carter had more catches for more yards and more TDs than Desmond did in his career.  He set a Big Ten record for receiving TDs that lasted over 20 years.  To say he didn't have as good a career is very questionable.  He played in an era when we didn't throw the ball that much.  If we had passed as often as we did in the Grbac years, he'd have been a Heisman winner (I believe he was a finalist anyway).

inthebluelot

November 12th, 2012 at 7:23 PM ^

Desmond had 32 touchdowns in 3 seasons, Carter had 37 in 4 seasons... Carter also had more receptions than Howard did, so Howard was actually more productive as they had about the same avg catches per year. Howard was much better than I thought. 21 is definitely a bigger honor.

justingoblue

November 12th, 2012 at 8:27 PM ^

Carter was a three time All-American, Howard made the list once. Also, looking at their pass offenses (starting QB's only, which isn't perfect but at least it doesn't count any garbage time against the receivers):

Year Yards Total Pass %
1979 462 2017 22.90%
1980 844 1522 55.43%
1981 952 1661 57.31%
1982 818 1735 47.14%
       
1989 136 1081 12.58%
1990 1025 1911 53.63%
1991 985 2085 47.24%

Carter was a much bigger part of Michigan's receiving game than Desmond was, over the course of their careers. You won't hear me say anything negative about Desmond's career, but the offense changed dramatically between Carter's non-freshman years and Desmond's.

buddhafrog

November 12th, 2012 at 9:37 AM ^

He's earned #21.  That is an honor.  By upgrading him to #1, yes, that would definitely be an insult.  



He's had two good games - I love his enthusiasm and attitude, but still, its been two games.  Let him build the #21 status by continuing to play great.

Mich Mash

November 12th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^

...people donate money all the time to different organizations for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes, as you assert, people donate just because they are altruistic.  But I would contend that many people donate large sums of money with a string or two attached.  As one tiny example, walk around the campus and see how many buildings have someone's name scrawled all over them due to their donation.

jmblue

November 12th, 2012 at 1:06 PM ^

I don't think there really is any string attached.  Braylon does not choose who wears the number.  He was upset when RR wanted to give it to a DB, but I don't think the agreement specifically gave him veto power.  RR didn't feel a need to contest the issue and let it go.

MadMonkey

November 12th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^

wearing a legends jersey (and, yes, I think it would be an insult to Desmond to change).

Funchess has made some great catches and will be playing four years (and Treadwell isn't showing us the love).

M-Wolverine

November 12th, 2012 at 1:50 PM ^

 

Player Position Years Worn
Angus G. Goetz LT 1919-20
Robert Jerome Dunne G 1921
Paul G. Goebel E 1922
Harry Kipke HB 1923
Dave Whiteford DB 1973-75
Gregg Willner PK/P 1976-78
Anthony Carter WR 1979-82
Greg McMurtry WR 1986-89
Derrick Alexander WR 1990-93
Tyrone Butterfield WR 1994-96
David Terrell WR 1998-2000
Braylon Edwards WR 2003-04

#1

The most coveted jersey number in Michigan football lure, the #1 has been worn by a total of 12 players during the 130-year history of the program. Three-time All-American Anthony Carter made the number popular when he wore the jersey during his player career (1979-82), and the #1 sweater has been given to a wide receiver five times since Carter adorned the number.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/021910aad.html

MGoShoe

November 12th, 2012 at 10:00 AM ^

...is unlikely to be awarded for at least another year. And yes, I do support it being added to the Legends Jersey group honoring Anthony Carter. The Braylon scholarship thing unnecessarily complicates the selection process.