Numbers

June 17, 2007

Player numbers have been assigned to the incoming freshmen and are posted on the Mean Green Sports athletic site. There are a few that are very curious, such as A.J. Penson being assigned 7, the same number as Daniel Meager. I realize that Penson will likely be redshirted this year but both should be playing in 2008. Breece Johnson was assigned #17, which two other players already hold. I'm expecting Johnson to play this year so it looks doubtful that the others with that number will be active.

Re scholarships: I count 64 that I believe are on scholarship. There are two more that I believe will be awarded scholarships (if they haven't already) since they are potential starters....Fitzgerald and Nurudeen. That 66, plus the newcomers total 85, the maximum allowed. Banks and Evan Robertson are not included in that total and while neither are currently enrolled in school, it is possible that one or both might re-qualify. There is a place kicker/punter who may be guaranteed a spot and the deep snapper, whether it be Davidson or the incoming walkon, should be given a schollie. I'm expecting about 5 to leave, either voluntarily or otherwise, but it's still going to be tight. Coach Dodge knows what he's doing; I just hope that our fans understand why we can't go after every prospect that looks good on paper.

If everyone stays we could only take about 19 walkons (to reach our maximum of 120) and that may be a problem due to Coach Dodge's popularity.

NTPhiKap99 · June 17, 2007

Player numbers have been assigned to the incoming freshmen and are posted on the Mean Green Sports athletic site. There are a few that are very curious, such as A.J. Penson being assigned 7, the same number as Daniel Meager. I realize that Penson will likely be redshirted this year but both should be playing in 2008. Breece Johnson was assigned #17, which two other players already hold. I'm expecting Johnson to play this year so it looks doubtful that the others with that number will be active.

They can be active you can have multiple players with the same number as long as they are not on the field at the same time.

NCMeanGreen · June 17, 2007

Player numbers have been assigned to the incoming freshmen and are posted on the Mean Green Sports athletic site. There are a few that are very curious, such as A.J. Penson being assigned 7, the same number as Daniel Meager. I realize that Penson will likely be redshirted this year but both should be playing in 2008. Breece Johnson was assigned #17, which two other players already hold. I'm expecting Johnson to play this year so it looks doubtful that the others with that number will be active.

You can definintely have multiple players with the same jersey number. Case in point: I remember going to a Nebraska vs. Baylor game a few years back. Nebraska had 3-4 athletes with jersey #1! However, they were certainly not on the field at the same time...

June 18, 2007

I realize that you can have two players with the same number but as a practical matter it usually isn't done, at least with lettermen. I can't recall that we've ever done that among those that suit up on game day. We have had scout team members with the same numbers as the game participants. Since we can have (I believe) 105 players and there are only 95 available numbers, it's for certain that there will be duplications.

It just seemed odd to me that two potential front line players would be assigned the same number even though they wouldn't appear on the field at the same time and since they usually keep one number throughout their career.