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Should We Retire the #1 Jersey


El Paso Eagle

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Just now, greenminer said:

He's a HOF-er.

Not sure about retiring his jersey, but I for sure think being a consensus AA gets you in that convo.  I believe Mean Jo is the only other Eagle that has that honor.

@greenminer HOF without a doubt, but sadly the standards for our HOF are not the highest. He is our for consensus All American since Mean Joe

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Not a fan of retiring numbers. You have so many kids on roster, and already have doubling up between offense and defense.

The number does deserve special recognition though...it shouldn't go to just anyone. Should be reserved for special players. Sort of how Dallas does with the #88.

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There were some high expectations of Jaelon back when he signed in 2017.   But that same class brought us Jalen Guyton, and Rico had started to contribute at the end of the 2016 season, so we knew his future was bright.
If you would have told me in 2017 one of those 3 guys would hold all of the Receiving records at NT at the end of his career...  I might not have been surprised, but Darden wouldn't have been the one I would have picked.

What a testament to his work, and his talent.   

Proud to call Jaelon a fellow alum.
 

25 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

Bring him back in 5 years (along with Mason) to put their names on the wall in the south end zone

...and I like this idea.

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1 hour ago, UNT Texas Hooligan said:

HOF'er for sure. No retiring numbers just yet. Let's see how his pro career pans out first. 

IMO, pro career should have nothing to do with college sports recognition.  Kennedy for example was a great college football player, but didn't make it in the pros.  There are others that were better at the pro level than in college like Brian Waters.  

It obviously does when honoring alumni based on their careers. 

However, NT put Dickey in the HOF; so there are few if any standards.  

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2 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

 

However, NT put Dickey in the HOF; so there are few if any standards.  

Sure there are. Call alums MoFo’s, put the team in dime store black uniforms and have an overall losing record. It gets you in the Hall, practice fields named after you and million dollar donations from wealthy alums. 

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7 minutes ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

HOF? Absolutely. Fast track him.

Retire #1? I think their is a better option....

Here is an idea. We could place a higher standard on issuing the #1 jersey to a player. Don't just let players claim it. Only award the jersey to the top WR on our roster, when the consensus of the coaches agree the WR has achieved the same level of work ethic, leadership, and success that Darden exhibited. This means the #1 jersey may not be issued every season, but when it is, it will go to a very special "team captain". It could be a good recruiting tool too.

At some point, if the list of WR's that wear #1 were to grow even more distinguished, than maybe a space on the wall at field level can feature the #1 and list the names of those that were awarded the jersey. Just a thought.

I like this. Have a number on O (maybe two for a lineman) and a number on D that are awarded each year. A nice tradition to start

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25 minutes ago, Side.Show.Joe said:

HOF? Absolutely. Fast track him.

Retire #1? I think there is a better option....

Here is an idea. We could place a higher standard on issuing the #1 jersey to a player. Don't just let players claim it. Only award the jersey to the top WR on our roster, when the consensus of the coaches agree the WR has achieved the same level of work ethic, leadership, and success that Darden exhibited. This means the #1 jersey may not be issued every season, but when it is, it will go to a very special "team captain". It could be a good recruiting tool too.

At some point, if the list of WR's that wear #1 were to grow even more distinguished, than maybe a space on the wall at field level can feature the #1 and list the names of those that were awarded the jersey. Just a thought.

The number 1 at a lot of college teams is awarded to the most deserving player in the eyes of the team and/or the coaches. 

The perceived prestige involved with in particular single digit numbers has become a deal in rewarding players and recruiting.  It is generally not restricted to a position group.  

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Agree with the sentiment here, give it time, for sure honor him, Jersey retirements are sacred and should really be a once every 50 yr type talent but I think the practice is losing steam.  Love the idea of immortalizing him and Mason in a ceremony half a decade from now. 

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First, I’d remind you that QB Scott Davis had an excellent career here wearing #1.  
 

I contacted Wren about retiring jersey numbers.  My idea went a step further. 
 

Invite players with retired numbers still living and the families of players with retired numbers back for a pew-game ceremony.  Have the retired jersey numbers “offered” back to the program and /or issued to a deserving player.  
 

I think we should expect to have players worthy of recognition over and over.  I’m opposed to retiring numbers.

GO MEAN GREEN

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3 hours ago, MeanGreenHoops said:

Is Booger Kennedy's number retired? check notes... no, then the bar must be higher than dominating the conference for 3 years, good to know.

No disrespect to Kennedy, but Darden is our first consensus All American since 1968.

That is a higher bar

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11 minutes ago, greenminer said:

UNT has only 4 players ever who are 4-time all conference players, and Darden isn't one of them.
Kennedy was POTY twice, defensive player of the year once.

So, from your point of view, these are higher accomplishments than Consensus All American?

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1 hour ago, El Paso Eagle said:

So, from your point of view, these are higher accomplishments than Consensus All American?

I think it depends on your view.  Darden clearly had a better single season.  IMO, Kennedy had a better career.

IMO, we shouldn't be having this discussion for at least another 5 years.  People are very very high on Darden right now.  Let's see how we are reflecting on things when there is some distance from 2020.

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No.

UNT has FOUR retired jerseys:

Hayes - 1st round AFL pick, AFL ROY, AFL 4x All Star, 3x AFL rushing TD leader, AFL MVP, AFL All Time Team, AFL Champion, KC Chiefs HOF, KC Chiefs retired jersey

Renfro - 4th round pick, 3x NFL Pro Bowl, 2x NFL Champion, 1x Super Bowl Champion (as coach)

Richard Gill - All conference linebacker in 1968 and 1969. Died his senior year due to a blood clot following surgery. HIS WAS THE FIRST UNT JERSEY RETIRED... in 1971.

Greene - #4 pick in NFL draft, 4x SB Champion, 10x Pro Bowler, 5x 1st Team All-Pro, 3x 2nd Team All Pro, 2x NFL DPOY, NFL DROY, NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, NFL Man of the Year, Steelers retired jersey (1 of 2), and he was never, ever sick at sea.

 

That's the bar.

And note, if you want to make this about what they did in college, Gill was the only one who had his jersey retired before going off to accomplish great things as a pro. Greene's was retired in 1981, Haynes 1986 (I think?), and Renfro posthumously in 2000.

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