Braylon Edwards is not happy with Coach Rod's choice for #1 jersey

Legendary Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards spoke out this week regarding his unhappiness with what he perceived as Coach Rod's slight regarding the assignment of the #1 jersey. In April, 2006, Edwards endowed a $500,000 scholarship to be awarded annually to the player who wears the #1 jersey. When Edwards announced the endowment he paid tribute to the "original" No. 1 at Michigan, Anthony Carter, a three-time All-American and the player who made the jersey iconic. Edwards credits Carter, who was a former teammate of his father, Stan, for providing him with a role model and for being a pioneer in Michigan’s wide receiving game. It was Edwards' desire and intent for the #1 jersey to be awarded to a wide receiver as has been the case since Carter first donned it in 1979. However, Edwards believes that Coach Rod may be assigning the coveted #1 jersey this year to J.T. Floyd a freshman defensive back. Edwards expressed his displeasure on multiple ESPN shows this week. Michigan fans have generally been dismayed by this turn of events and are wondering how long it will take for Coach Rod to correct his latest public relations blunder. Hopefully, Coach Rod will embrace the #1 jersey tradition just as Coach Schembechler embraced Michigan's traditions when Bo took over the team in 1969. Go Blue!

*Note: Photo by Sam Webb from GoBlueWolverine.com of Braylon Edwards (left) and Anthony Carter during the April, 2006 event announcing the creation of the scholarship endowment.

**UPDATE ON 5/21/08: Coach Rod indicated that the controversy surrounding the #1 jersey has been settled. He said he didn't fully understand the significance of the No. 1 jersey and -- once he found out -- removed it, and no one will wear it this fall. Coach Rod stated, "But I'm educated now. ... If I could fix all problems as easily as I fixed that one, we're in a good place."

The legacy of #1 Anthony Carter

In recent days and weeks there has been a lot of discussion of landing out-of-state star recruits who could arrive at Michigan and make an immediate impact on the program as a true freshman. There has been non-stop talk about 5-star recruit Ryan Mallett from Texarkana, TX. The only problem is that he plays behind senior Chad Henne and thus Mallett will not have the chance to play a lot this year. The other 5-star recruit in the 2007 class is CB Donovan Warren from California. Warren will be competing for a starting job in the secondary this fall. However, the impact Warren or any of the other 2007 recruits will make this season will likely pale in comparison to the sensation caused in 1979 by a skinny true freshman from Riveria Beach, Florida.

Anthony Carter (or "AC" as he became known) was recruited by Coach Bo Schembechler from Sun Coast High School to play Wide Receiver and special teams. Carter was only 5'11" and was rail thin at 161 lbs. He was also painfully shy but Coach Schembechler saw the makings of a future star and Carter was assigned jersey #1. AC made a dramatic impact in his very first game as he scored a touchdown on a 78-yard punt return in the 1979 season opener versus Northwestern. From there, he never looked back. In game eight versus Indiana, he caught the legendary touchdown pass from Johnny "Wingin'" Wangler with no time left on the clock to give Michigan a 27-21 victory over Lee Corso's Indiana Hoosiers. AC kept up his heroics in the OSU game as he caught 2 passes for 125 yards including a 59-yard scoring pass from Wangler. In the Gator Bowl, AC continued his freshman brilliance as he caught 4 passes for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the season he tallied 1,157 all-purpose yards (462 yds. receiving, 413 on kickoffs, 265 on punt returns) for an average of 96.4 yards per game. He averaged an amazing 27.2 yards per reception and he scored 7 receiving touchdowns.

AC's freshman season was only the beginning of course. He went on to have three consecutive seasons where he was named first-team All-American and he finished in the top-10 of the Heisman Trophy balloting in each of those years. (i.e., 1980: 10th place; 1981: 7th place; 1982: 4th place). AC made the #1 jersey what it is today and he created a legacy for all future recruits to follow. The new recruits may be bigger than the shy, slight kid from Riveria Beach, Florida but I doubt that they will ever be able to fill his shoes. Go Blue!

A Wolverine was in Top 10 in Heisman balloting 8 of 9 years from 1974-1982

One of the favorite topics of the college football preview magazines is the race for the Heisman Trophy. It is never too early for the Heisman hype to start. However, there is nary a mention of any of the Wolverines when it comes to talk of 2006 Heisman Trophy predictions. I figured that was fine for this year because unless you are USC, a school is not going to have a Heisman Trophy contender every single season. Or so I thought. I rationalized that Heisman Trophy candidates are rare players. They only come along once in awhile and I already feel spoiled by the fact that Michigan had two winners in the 90's in Desmond Howard (1991) and Charles Woodson (1997). However, then I came across the fact that there was a time under Bo when we did have a Heisman contender (almost) every single year. The Wolverines had a player finish in the Top 10 in the Heisman balloting eight times in the nine years from 1974 through 1982. Those Top 10 finishers were:

• 1974: Dennis Franklin, QB (6th)
• 1975: Gordon Bell, RB (8th)
• 1976: Rob Lytle, RB (3rd)
• 1977: Rick Leach, QB (8th)
• 1978: Rick Leach, QB (3rd)
• 1979: N/A
• 1980: Anthony Carter, WR (10th)
• 1981: Anthony Carter, WR (7th)
• 1982: Anthony Carter, WR (4th)

For Bo to have 5 different players at 3 different positions each finish in the top 10 in the Heisman balloting during this era is truly impressive. I think this feat matches the fact that U of M had the two Heisman winners only six years apart in the 1990's. The lack of a Heisman contender on the 2006 team is not necessarily a shortcoming but the run between 1974-1982 shows me that it is possible to have a Wolverine in Heisman contention (nearly) every year. Traditionally, Michigan has not made a big push for a player's Heisman candidacy. However, U of M receives so much national media exposure that a Wolverine can play himself into contention just by performing on the field. As for 2006, you can never count out a healthy Mike Hart from stepping up and running himself right into the Heisman race. Go Blue!