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Matt Rhule, Huskers giving single-digit jerseys to nine toughest players

Quinton Newsome
Quinton Newsome (Greg Smith/Inside Nebraska)

Al Golden was about as old school as a college football head coach could be during the era in which he was running the Temple and Miami programs – from 2006-10 with the Owls and 2011-15 with the Hurricanes.

That traditional approach even included dressing in a shirt, tie and khaki pants on the sidelines during games.

Well, Matt Rhule stripped a chapter out of Golden’s book – or at least one page – when he took over as Temple's head coach in 2013. He never has, and never will, wear the same type of gameday outfit that Golden sported during those days. Even as he brought changes to the program during that inaugural year with the Owls, though, Rhule did bring back a tradition that Golden had implemented:

Handing out single-digit jersey numbers to the nine toughest players on the team.

“It’s just sort of a rite of passage for those guys,” Rhule said back in 2013. “It's something they’ve earned, and they wear it."

So that didn't mean just anyone got the honor of wearing those jerseys. They weren't dished out to the star players or the veterans who got first dibs.

In Rhule's first season at Temple, eight players were given single-digit numbers (No. 1 was left vacant in his first year). Only four of those eight had been regular starters during the 2012 season. One of them was even a walk-on – albeit a highly respected walk-on (Ryan Alderman) who eventually became a four-year letterwinner – who had worn No. 87 in his first three seasons.

It's a tradition that had been done away with in the two years after Golden left for Miami, but it's one that Rhule reinstated and carried out over his four seasons with the program. It's a tradition that Rhule appears to be starting this offseason with the Nebraska program.

The team released its updated roster on Monday, which came complete with new heights, weights, position listings and, of course, jersey numbers.

That included jersey number switches for 14 guys who are each wearing double-digits on his chest and back to begin spring ball:

>>> Jake Appleget (listed at No. 0 at the end of last season and switched to >>> No. 83 this spring, the number change coming in addition to his position switch from EDGE to tight end)

>>> Marques Buford Jr. (No. 1 >>> No. 24)

>>> Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda (No. 2 >>> No. 82)

>>> Tommi Hill (who started with No. 0, switched to No. 2 as a WR and has now switched to >>> No. 31)

>>> Cooper Hausmann (switched from No. 3 at QB to >>> No. 13 at WR)

>>> Quinton Newsome (No. 6 >>> No. 15)

>>> Chubba Purdy (No. 6 >>> No. 12)

>>> Tamon Lynum (No. 7 >>> No. 38)

>>> Marcus Washington (No. 7 >>> No. 16)

>>> Mikey Pauley (No. 7 >>> No. 17)

>>> Myles Farmer (No. 8 >>> No. 18)

>>> Logan Smothers (No. 8 >>> No. 18)

>>> Ajay Allen (No. 9 >>> No. 23)

>>> DeShon Singleton (No. 9 to No. 29)

One of those 14, veteran starting cornerback Newsome, was at the podium during Thursday's post-practice press conferences and talked about the jersey number situation.

“Basically, with Coach (Rhule), everybody’s starting off new," Newsome said. "Basically, everyone has to earn a single-digit – whoever they think are the guys who deserve it is who will get a single-digit number. ... I honestly don’t know specifically (how guys will earn those jersey numbers), but I would say the toughest guys – even from mat drills and the stuff we were doing to now, what we’re doing with spring ball, just seeing who the competitors are and the people who really deserve it.”

Maybe the number selection is more important to some than others, but Newsome was probably speaking for multiple teammates when he was asked if he wanted to get his old number back.

"Oh, yeah. I want my ‘6’ back, for sure," Newsome said through a smile.

Why does all of that matter?

For some players, maybe it's just wanting a cool number. For some players, there may be an emotional connection with a certain number – whether the number is tied into a family member who used to wear the same one, the player's own history and memories wearing the number, maybe it's a representation of something from their hometowns or any other number (pun intended) of reasons that seem small on the surface but are important to each of those guys.

One extra reason could be personal branding, which players have always rightfully cared about, but even more justifiably put stock into given college football's NIL-driven world.

So it's a bit of a bigger deal than it may seem. If it didn't matter, Rhule and this program wouldn't be doing it. Taking those numbers away and waiting to see who earns them is another example – again, though seemingly small – of Rhule trying to implement some more accountability and extra competitiveness within that locker room and within this program.

We have already seen the countless details emerge – both significant and minute – that Rhule has plugged into a program that is in dire need of a systematic overhaul. This is just another needle being poked as part of the Husker facelift.

Was bringing back that Golden-era tradition the reason Temple went from a mess to a cellar dweller to eventually a winner – with two straight 10-win seasons, back-to-back AAC title game appearances and one conference championship?

No. Let's not be irrational. But it was at least one very small puzzle piece in a culture turnaround.

So, we'll see how it goes. And we'll see which players prove they are deserving of holding one of those nine top spots.

RELATED:

>>> Thursday's open practice footage

>>> Practice Observations: Offense

>>> Practice Observations: Defense

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