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[QUOTE="tep624, post: 3942241, member: 430"]
It was made famous by Jim Brown wearing it, but between him and Ernie and Ernie and Floyd there were others that weren't as prominent that wore it.  Then 50 years later it's retired to preserve a legacy?  Uh - the legacy was that it was being used in the program and worn by high profile recruits, obviously not all of them were going to pan out at the college level and beyond.  But it was being used the same way as when it was given to Jim Brown the first time, and it was being used the same way as when it was in use in the late 50's to mid 60's.

Michael Owens is a great example - Not a 1st round NFL Draft Pick or NFL Hall of Famer (Most college players aren't), but he was the #1 player in Pennsylvania in 1985.  Think about that - we may never land the #1 player in PA again.  Konrad was arguably the #1 RB in the nation his senior year.  Again, something we may never do again.  They deserved to wear the number based on the number's purpose to begin with.  It was never supposed to be preserved for someone who was already a star, it was never supposed to be hung from a rafter never to be used - part of the fun and excitement about the number was it being handed out again because you knew, at a minimum, that was a recruit the staff and the program highly valued - that was the tradition.  It created some buzz.  Maybe this next high profile recruit will be a All American and a 1st round pick or maybe he won't - but at least the number and the tradition remained a living breathing thing.
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