Picking incoming players’ numbers is an annual challenge for Coach Pete Carroll
By Ben Malcolmson
USCRipsIt
PeteCarroll.com
At USC, with no name on the back of the jersey, your number becomes your identity.
It’s how players are remembered.
It’s how their legacy gets cemented in time.
Think of almost any number, and a legendary Trojan comes to mind.
The number 12? Charles White. How about 3? Carson Palmer. What about 55? Keith Rivers, Chris Claiborne, Willie McGinnest, Junior Seau, to name a few.
So it’s no wonder that the number a player receives when he enters USC carries a lot of weight.
Sure, some players change numbers after a year or two at USC — like Taylor Mays (from 29 to 2) and C.J. Gable (from 25 to 2) did before last season. But more often than not, the number a player receives on Day 1 as a Trojan winds up being on his jersey for the rest of his collegiate career.
And the man responsible for the task of assigning numbers to incoming players?
None other than Coach Pete Carroll.
And it’s not an easy job.
After players sign their letters of intent in February, the process of designating numbers begins. Players submit their top choice or choices for jersey numbers to Carroll, who has to maneuver between retired or already taken jersey numbers.
“We do the best we can to honor the guys’ requests,” Carroll said.
Most players ask for their high school numbers, with players usually having a unique and special attachment to their long-time numbers. But with 80-plus returning players every season, it’s often difficult to grant that request. So Carroll does his best to work the numbers and give each incoming player a number that will eventually become his identity as a Trojan.
“My number has sort of become me,” said Brian Cushing, who’s worn No. 10 since high school.
“It means a lot to me, because it’s how people recognize me and find me on the field,” said quarterback Mark Sanchez, who likes No. 6 because it’s a rare number for a quarterback.
Carroll has been through the process on the player side before — and it didn’t end to his initial liking.
As an incoming freshman at Pacific, he wanted No. 40, the number he had worn in every sport as a kid. But when he walked into the athletic complex on his first day as a freshman, he saw that the No. 40 — his No. 40 — was retired by the university in honor of legendary quarterback/safety Eddie LeBaron, a College Football Hall-of-Famer and four-time NFL Pro Bowler.
Because of that incident, Carroll, who ended up with a 46 on his jersey instead, said he has sympathy for the incoming players.
“I know what it’s like to not get your number,” he said.
Here’s a list of many of the newest Trojans and their numbers, with an applicable comment next to each one:
CB T.J. Bryant – 1 • Sharing with WR Patrick Turner
WR D.J. Shoemate – 10 • Plenty of 10s available in the bookstore (though they’re intended to be either LB Brian Cushing’s or leftover John David Booty jerseys)
S Drew McAllister – 19 • First Trojan to wear the number since Mario Danelo
CB Brian Baucham – 30 • Once the jersey number for CB Kevin Arbet
LB Uona Kaveinga – 35 • Taking FB Jody Adewale’s number
OL Abe Markowitz – 50 • Number represents his home state of Hawaii, the nation's 50th state, and its famous TV show "Hawaii 5-0"
OL Tyron Smith – 70 • Taking OL Alatini “Tiny” Malu’s number, but it’ll be a smaller-sized jersey (Malu was 330 pounds; Smith is 270 pounds)
OL Matt Kalil – 75 • Sharing with DL Fili Moala
OL Khaled Holmes – 78 • Taking the same number he had in high school
WR Brice Butler – 83 • Taking TE Fred Davis’ number (and before him, WR Keary Colbert’s number)
TE Blake Ayles – 89 • Taking TE Dale Thompson’s number
DT Jurrell Casey – 91 • A traditional defensive lineman’s number
DT Armond Armstead – 94 • First player to wear the number since All-American Kenechi Udeze
DE Wes Horton – 96 • Replacing All-American and three-year starter Lawrence Jackson
DE Malik Jackson – 97 • Taking DE Alex Morrow’s number
• Ben Malcolmson is the Director of Online Media for USCRipsIt/PeteCarroll.com. You can contact him at Ben@PeteCarroll.com.
