New Rules For Single Digits

Those of you who follow Notre Dame football as obsessively closely as we here at 18 Stripes do may remember that a couple of months ago, Brian Kelly laid out some new rules for how players can get the highly-desirable single digit jersey numbers. In an appearance on a weekly WSBT radio segment, Kelly noted that all single-digit numbers will now be handed out as a merit system, with #1 rotating based on special criteria:

“That’s going to be the player who exemplifies himself both on and off the field in a manner that represents all the things we want a Notre Dame football player to represent. And he will wear that No. 1, because it signifies that he’s the best.”

The other single-digit numbers will be assigned for an entire season, not on a weekly rotation like #1 – this point was a source of confusion for many fans when the news first came out. The coaches have developed a point system for on- and off-field work to help determine who gets those numbers. When Kelly first mentioned the new system, he essentially said that what started the thought process around this was that so many recruits were asking for these numbers. Of course older players find the numbers desirable too, so it’s neither prudent nor fair to promise them to kids who haven’t even enrolled yet. I like the meritocracy here because it takes the intrinsic value that these numbers have with the players and attaches real team value to them as well.

There has been much speculation, with no confirmation yet that I’ve seen, that the rotating #1 is at least partially a tribute to the late Greg Bryant, who died tragically in a hail of gunfire on a dark Florida highway in the spring and who was very close with his former teammates. If that’s true, I think it’s a great way to let the kids who knew Bryant and cared about him honor him in some way; if it isn’t, I’m still fine with the general idea. Every coach has gimmicks to motivate his team; at least this is better than a sledgehammer or a chain.

Some of you may remember that Lou Holtz also had a quasi-merit system for single digits, with the lone criterion rumored to be that the player had to run a sub-4.6 40 yard dash. I’m not sure how strictly Lou held to that given that Lee Becton wore #4 and Lyron Cobbins wore #6, but still, that was the rule.

The Low-Numbered Guys We Know

Here are the players who will wear single digits this fall, except of course for the yet-to-be-named Week 1 #1:

 

No. Name
2 Dexter Williams
3 CJ Sanders
4 Te’von Coney
4 Montgomery VanGorder
5 Nyles Morgan
6 Equanimeous St. Brown
7 Nick Watkins
7 Brandon Wimbush
8 Avery Sebastian
9 Daelin Hayes
9 Malik Zaire

 

 

 

Coney, VanGorder, Morgan, St. Brown, Wimbush, Sebastian, and Zaire are all wore these same numbers last year. CJ Sanders wore #9 last year and changed to #3 this year. We can’t know if all of them were just allowed to carry the number over, or if they had to do something to keep the number, so that’s a bit of a grey area. Daelin Hayes is one of those incoming recruits; I’m not sure if he was grandfathered in too, since the request most likely pre-dated the new policy, or if this reflects the fact that Jaylon Smith told Hayes he would carry on the tradition of #9, or both. That’s also a grey area.

What’s not grey at all, though, is that Dexter Williams, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Nick Watkins wore two-digit numbers last year – #34, #86, and #21, respectively – and have moved into the single-digit club this season. One might reasonably imagine that each of them has done something to fulfill the expectations set out in the new numbering policy, which is especially interesting because Williams and St. Brown each saw very limited action last year. Perhaps that’s an indication of how heavily non-game criteria are weighted – take care of your classroom work, bust your butt in practice, show character and integrity, and you can get a good number. I like that.

Who Will Wear #1 First?

No doubt the first player tabbed to wear #1 this year will set the tone for the system. Will it be a “lunchpail” player? A vocal senior? A classroom performer? I tend to think the first player chosen will be a genuine contributor, but I’m not overly confident in that. If I had to pick a few guys who I think seem most likely today, I’d go with James Onwualu, Torii Hunter, or Drue Tranquill; each has a tremendous work ethic and has been singled out by the coaches for demonstrating quality leadership skills since the summer session. If it’s more of a lunchpail guy, my money is on Josh Anderson, who is very popular with his teammates and has fought uphill all the way as a walk-on running back. If you want a dark horse candidate, let’s get crazy and say Max Redfield, after he puts it all together and has a phenomenal camp.

What’s your best guess?