Players leave, players arrive and sometimes you get to wear
the jersey number you wore in high school. Sometimes you don’t. Well, there
might be a few of those as junior Zac Lee goes from being No. 3 to No. 5, which
happens to be his number prior to arriving at Nebraska. Here’s a few others as
we try and bide our time until something more interesting happens.
At No. 1 we have senior Chris Brooks, who has had this
number since he arrived. No. 1 at Nebraska is actually a dubious number to have
considering some of the history. That was why when I saw sophomore cornerback
Alfonzo Dennard wearing the jersey number his freshman year, I was thinking
that he was putting a curse on him before he ever played a game. But following
the departure of Steve Octavien, who wore number 15 during his Husker career,
Dennard donned that number last season. I was a bit worried when he once again
had the No. 1 jersey on over Spring, but there he is, back at No. 15.
Junior Adi Kunalic doesn’t seem to be afraid though, as he
now wears No. 1. Not sure who the last kicker to wear that number was, but best
of luck as he tries to reverse the curse.
As I already mentioned junior Zac Lee is now wearing No. 5
as he wasn’t going to get it while Marlon Lucky is still here. But taking his
number from last year is true freshman Taylor Martinez. Another interesting
note on Martinez is that for awhile he was listed on the official site as an
athlete, but now finds himself listed as a quarterback. Kind of what we
expected, but there it is in cyber-ink, so to speak.
Taking the No. 2 jersey on defense is another true
freshman, cornerback Lazarri Middleton. Former Husker Cortney Grixby may not
have gotten the credit he deserved while he was at Nebraska, but in that
pint-sized player reside some big shoes to fill in regard to the number.
Antonio Bell keeps his Spring jersey number (2), former
Husker quarterback Patrick Witt vacating it when he opted to transfer from the
program.
Freshman wide receiver Khiry Cooper keeps the No. 6 jersey
he claimed after he arrived, shortly before his stint with the baseball team.
Quick trivia question: the last receiver to wear the No. 6?
Kenny Cheatham, who finished his playing days with the Big
Red in 1999.
Junior quarterback Latravis Washington vacated the No. 7 on
defense when he moved over to offense and had the guts to take the No. 15. In
my opinion that’s another number which should be permanently retired. But that
No. 7 now goes to junior college transfer, cornerback Dejon Gomes.
The next somewhat interesting one is freshman defensive end
Jason Ankrah, who will wear No. 9. One doesn’t often equate the defensive-end
position with single digits, but as recently as 2003 we saw that as Benard
Thomas donned No. 5 after switching from No. 10 which he wore for the first
couple of years of his Husker career.
Here’s another trivia question for you, and it’s a tough
one: The last defensive end to wear a single-digit number prior to Thomas?
George Guidry, a Lake Charles, Louisiana native who wore No.
9 as a freshman in 1997.
Senior wide receiver Menelik Holt will continue wearing No.
18. I only bring this up, because I believe he changed his jersey number during
last season perhaps three times. I actually lost track. He was No. 4 for
awhile, and I believe he had a number in 20s or 30s at one point. But for now
anyway, it’s still No. 18.
Freshman running back Rex Burkhead will be No. 22, which was
running back Cory Ross’s number as a freshman, before he ultimately changed it
to No. 4.
Freshman running back Tray Robinson is wearing No. 27, the
number wore by fellow and former running back Kenny Wilson. Sometimes I still
sit and wonder what that young man could have done had he not broken his leg
moving that TV. That single video clip during Spring practice wasn’t Susan
Boyle-esque, but it created quite a stir.
What might have been.
Redshirt freshman defensive end Cameron Meredith now wears
No. 34, that number held by former Husker running back, former linebacker Cody Glenn, who was signed not so long ago to play linebacker for the Redskins.
Just think about that for a second, that Cody Glenn, who
came in as a running back, found himself relegated to short yardage situations
and then the bench as a running back, leading the team in tackles last year up
to the point he was suspended from the team. Imagine if he played the whole
season or if he had played an entire career at Nebraska at that position.
Of course, the No. 34, especially as it relates to the
defensive end position, isn’t a small deal. Some guy named Trev Alberts wore
that number, both as an outside
linebacker in the old Nebraska defense and then as an end when the Huskers
switched to the “4-3.”
As you no doubt heard during the Spring, redshirt freshman
Quinton Toailoa went from defense to offense, but that didn’t stop him from
keeping the No. 50.
Lydon Murtha’s No. 76 will go to another giant, someone even
bigger (I didn’t say taller) than Murtha himself. Standing closer to 6-6 than
his listed height of 6-7, Qvale weighs in at 330 pounds, rivaling that of
former Husker and current New York Jet Matt Slauson, who weighed anywhere from
315 to 340 pounds, depending on whether he wasn’t or was living out his
“Chipotle” phase.
Freshman tight end J.T. Kerr now wears No. 89, that number
held by Hunter Teafatiller, who also played tight end and graduated this last
season.
Latravis Washington certainly didn’t do himself any favors
throwing on the No. 15 and playing quarterback. But you could argue that redshirt
freshman Josh Williams was equally unkind to himself as the defensive end now
wears No. 98.
Of course Zach Potter wore this number prior to Williams
taking it over, and many of the same conversations came up when Potter took
that number as a true frosh. There is likely never to be another quite like
Wistrom. So, best of luck to Williams as he tries to carve his own niche’ as a
defensive end for the “Blackshirts.”
You know it’s the off-season when we are talking about
jersey numbers. But then again, this is Nebraska. We might talk about it even
if it was the middle of the actual schedule.
OK, maybe not
The following is a list of the true freshman from the class
of 2009, what number they are wearing and who the last player was to wear it on
the same side of the ball:
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