Give ED Jersey 44 next year

[OburgOrange]

If Dungey isn't the type of guy you give 44 to, then do away with the 44 once and for all.

Give it to him

 

[jgeorge322]

Id like him to take 5.

 

[MSOrange]

We can give it to him, but does he want it? Some guys like to stick with the same number - if it's lucky or for whatever reason.

 

[anomander]

We can give it to him, but does he want it? Some guys like to stick with the same number - if it's lucky or for whatever reason.

That's my thought. Most these kids want to make their own name. They don't want to be the next _____

 

[Ish88888]

Ive been chanting Dungey for Heisman like a drunken lunatic for two years and its surreal it may, though very very unlikely, come to fruition

I LOOOOOVE ED...absolute man crush on the kid. As a player and person, but this thread the week after his worst collegiate game with 4 picks, is flat out ridiculous. Love his grit and the Clemson game put him on the national stage but come on. Also, every time the "give him 44" talk comes up...i just shake my head. The # is retired fellas, and giving a player this 60+ year old historic # makes no sense.

 

[OrangePA]

I LOOOOOVE ED...absolute man crush on the kid. As a player and person, but this thread the week after his worst collegiate game with 4 picks, is flat out ridiculous. Love his grit and the Clemson game put him on the national stage but come on. Also, every time the "give him 44" talk comes up...i just shake my head. The # is retired fellas, and giving a player this 60+ year old historic # makes no sense.

The number should not be retired - it was never meant to be retired but was meant to be a living tribute to Jim Brown.

It was given to QB Rich Panczyczyn in 1967 - Rich was a brilliant athlete - a true triple threat.

But he was injury prone and of course did not live up to the legend.

In retrospect, it was, in my opinion, a mistake to give the number to a QB.

It is an RB number - that was the tradition.

So, I would have Eric stay with No. 2.

But, I would bring back No. 44 as soon as possible.

 

[Jeepers]

Even if the number is allowed for non-RBs, it could be a hard sell. As stated previously, some people just won’t want to change numbers. If any QB deserves it, it surely would be ED.

I hate how the tradition is now. Years will pass and the next generation won’t give a flip about 44. Do current students even know/care?

I think a bare minimum would be something like a 44 patch. Treated like being named captain.

BUT, just a crazy thought off the top of my head...let’s say the staff and team agree that a player deserves 44 recognition. They could put a current jersey, in the player’s size, with the number 44, in a sealed glass case in the locker room. The player is presented a commemorative key that opens the case. If he wants the jersey, he opens it and wears it. If he doesn’t, he still has the commemorative key.

 

[Ish88888]

Even if the number is allowed for non-RBs, it could be a hard sell. As stated previously, some people just won’t want to change numbers. If any QB deserves it, it surely would be ED.

I hate how the tradition is now. Years will pass and the next generation won’t give a flip about 44. Do current students even know/care?

I think a bare minimum would be something like a 44 patch. Treated like being named captain.

BUT, just a crazy thought off the top of my head...let’s say the staff and team agree that a player deserves 44 recognition. They could put a current jersey, in the player’s size, with the number 44, in a sealed glass case in the locker room. The player is presented a commemorative key that opens the case. If he wants the jersey, he opens it and wears it. If he doesn’t, he still has the commemorative key.

LOVE , LOVE , LOVE it!!! Captains where a 44 patch. Perfect touch.

 

[anomander]

People are weird about numbers. I know in college there were certain players who had to have “their” number. I just don’t think the a kid like that will all a sudden want to change his number because of someone who made it famous in the 1950’s. This generation is much more about making their own legend and not riding the coatailts of past greats. They see them as competition.

 

[FAL]

The patch idea seems like a good compromise—but only for one player, not all the captains.

 

[elimunelson]

We can give it to him, but does he want it? Some guys like to stick with the same number - if it's lucky or for whatever reason.

then completely retire it. If a current player, who has seen the history of the number, was offered and said, "i'm good, it's 2 i'm rolling with" then the number is a useless relic at this point. That's nothing against Dungey but i would think if the number is offered, it would be done on the condition of it being accepted. If i was offered it, much like 22 on the lax team, the amount of pride i'd have to wear that for the contributions i've made to the university, would be an emotional moment that the school thinks that highly of me to let me wear it for the remainder of my career.

I think limiting it to a RB when the sport has moved to the QB being the guy w the ball in their hand most of the time, is near sighted.