Michigan football alum Braylon Edwards gives blessing for a No. 1 jersey successor
Save for a spring-practice faux pas three years ago, Braylon Edwards remains the last Michigan football player to wear the coveted No. 1 jersey.
Could someone new snag it soon? Reserved for standout wide receivers, Edwards said Friday night there are three current Wolverines who could potentially meet the standards set for No. 1 - Roy Roundtree, Junior Hemingway and Darryl Stonum.
If coach Brady Hoke deems one of them worthy, they have Edwards’ blessing.
Braylon Edwards wore the No. 1 jersey from 2003-04.
Ann Arbor News file photo
Edwards wore the jersey in 2003 and 2004, catching 97 passes for 1,330 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final season at Michigan before becoming the third overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Last season, Roundtree set the school’s single-game receiving record with a nine-catch, 246-yard performance in a triple-overtime win against Illinois.
He finished the season with 72 receptions for 935 yards and seven TDs, and talked often of his desire to wear the No. 1 jersey.
“If (Hoke) feels someone is capable of holding that honor, then by all means bestow it upon somebody,” Edwards said. “You have three guys vying for it right now. But I put it on Brady, let him deal with the headache.”
Here’s the Michigan receivers who have worn the No. 1 throughout the school’s history: Anthony Carter (1979-82); Greg McMurtry (1986-89); Derrick Alexander (1990-93); Tyrone Butterfield (1994-96), David Terrell (1998-2000); Braylon Edwards (2003-04). Pete Bigelow covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2556, via email at petebigelow@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @PeterCBigelow.
Comments
aawolve
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 6:53 p.m.
I really wish they would just retire Anthony Carter's number and be done with it.
Dusty
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 5:26 a.m.
This #1 jersey "tradition" is the biggest joke ever. It doesn't even really exist. We "reserve" the #1 jersey for a standout receiver? Really? When was it ever awarded like that? There have been only 7 players to ever wear the #1 for Michigan, and the first one was a freakin' kicker. Oh, and the endowment attached to the jersey doesn't say anything about the player needing to be a receiver.
Larry Weisenthal
Sat, Apr 16, 2011 : 11:12 p.m.
What on earth is the problem with any of Edwards' quotes? Lighten up, good grief. Aren't we a little tired of badmouthing our own? He was one of the all time greats. Edwards is only the third wide receive in NCAA history to gain 1,000 or more receiving yards in three consecutive years. No one else who played for Michigan ever did that. Cut him some slack. He says we've got three great wide outs going into 2011, and there's only a single #1 jersey. That's what I call a high class problem.
DonAZ
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 12:56 a.m.
He has fallen prey to the allure of his own celebrity. I'm "badmouthing our own" when "our own" get too full of themselves. I don't give a rip what his stats are. The #1 jersey is not his to decree, nor even comment on. With a degree of humility -- which he does not possess -- he'd shut his pie hole about this and move on. I don't "cut him some slack." That's the kind of talk that enables the pig-headed of this generation to think they "own" something special, like the #1 jersey. He does not. Not even close. So to Braylon Edwards: "Shut the hell up." There's more to life and football than you. And that's the truth. Coach Hoke dictates who gets that #1 ... and it's my hope he withholds it so *nobody* gets it if the Braylon Edwards of the world thing they're so damn special they can suggest who might be deserving. The hell with Edwards. Hoke is the coach, and the team is the team. All else is secondary. "#1" is just a number. Retire it until the appropriate humility is achieved.
Chilltime
Sat, Apr 16, 2011 : 7:56 p.m.
Braylon PLEASE GO AWAY!
DonAZ
Sat, Apr 16, 2011 : 4:14 p.m.
Sheesh. As if Hoke needs or even wants Braylon Edwards' blessing. Hoke is smart enough not to give this story -- and Edwards in general -- any credence. This is exactly the kind of "some players are special, some are not" attitude that near ruined Michigan the last three years. Whoever wears the #1 jersey will do so because they exhibit an array of qualities -- not just football prowess but leadership and a selfless commitment to the team. Not because some prima donna ex-Wolverine "gives his blessing." Sheesh.