The stories behind the unretired ‘retired’ numbers at Fresno State

Fresno State will honor record-setting quarterback Derek Carr on Saturday, retiring the No. 4 that he wore front, back and on both shoulders from 2009 to ’13 and when leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back Mountain West championships in his final two seasons.

In a halftime ceremony during the Bulldogs’ season opener against Incarnate Word, the number will go up on the facade of the press box on the west side of the stadium right next to the No. 8 worn by his older brother David Carr and the No. 9, No. 12, No. 14, No. 21 and No. 83 honoring quarterback Kevin Sweeney, quarterback Trent Dilfer, kicker Vince Petrucci, running back Dale Messer and wide out Henry Ellard.

No. 4 also, curiously, will be worn on the field by Bulldogs safety Mike Bell and running back Deonte Perry.

In the future, according to athletic department policy, Bell and Perry will have to go through coach Jeff Tedford and request permission from Carr and his family to wear the No. 4. That policy is in place for all Fresno State athletic programs and their retired numbers, and in football it has been granted several times.

Running back Ryan Mathews wore No. 21 during his Fresno State career. Linebacker Travis Brown wore No. 9. Running back Robbie Rouse, the Bulldogs’ all-time leading rusher, wore No. 8 when racking up 4,647 rushing yards.

This season, senior wide out Da’Mari Scott and freshman cornerback Wylan Free are wearing the No. 8 put into history by David Carr, sophomore linebacker Jeffrey Allison switched his number in fall camp to Sweeney’s No. 9 from No. 24 and sophomore cornerback Jaron Bryant changed his number to Petrucci’s No. 14 from No. 38.

Often, there is a lot to a number.

No. 9

For Allison, it is family and a tribute to his cousins Jarrett and Jaylen Mumford, who were killed in an automobile accident last September.

“One of my cousins wore No. 8 and the other wore No. 2,” Allison said. “If you add those together, that’s 10 and I say they took a piece of me. That left me at No. 9.

“I talked to Coach Tedford and asked if he could talk to Kevin Sweeney and see if I could bring it out of retirement. Coach had me go through an evaluation, making sure that I was doing what I was supposed to on and off the field. I want to thank Coach Tedford for that, and Kevin Sweeney, too, because that’s a big part of me. Everyday, I want to get on the field, and make sure I do it for my cousins.”

The evaluation was an important piece to the puzzle for Tedford, a former Bulldogs quarterback and assistant coach. It matters, he said, that those retired numbers are worn by players who have an understanding and an appreciation of the history there.

“I had to ask Kevin and I had to ask Vince Petrucci, and they were good with it,” Tedford said. “I made those kids earn it. Jeff had been asking for it since before last spring. He was going to have to earn it. I told Kevin that.

“But those players, they understand who (Sweeney and Petrucci) are. They did research on them. They understand what they’re about. They have an appreciation for what it means.”

Tedford approached Sweeney during the spring about allowing Allison to wear the No. 9, and called him back two weeks ago.

“He said (Allison) has been amazing,” said Sweeney, who in 1986 set an NCAA record for career passing yards with 10,623. “He has been a great leader. In summer school he was a leader and he’s going to wear it with pride. Jeffrey has earned it.”

Why did Sweeney choose No. 9?

“I picked No. 9 because I’m the youngest of nine children and so was my dad,” said Sweeney, the son of legendary Fresno State coach Jim Sweeney. “I’m the last of a football family. It was a good way to represent my family and I was prideful to wear it.”

Allison will be, as well.

“Jarrett was my age,” he said. “We graduated the same year. His little brother was just in high school, too. My little brother is his age and we all were very close. It was very hard.”

No. 14

At Fresno State, incoming players can ask for a specific number, but there are three or four classes of players ahead of them so there are no guarantees.

That’s the way it was for Bryant. That’s the way it was for him in high school, too.

“My junior year, when I transferred schools, my coaches just threw me a number and it was 14,” Bryant said. “They were like, ‘There’s your number,’ and I just thought, ‘Cool.’ As long as it wasn’t too big, like 32 and up, I can’t do it.

“By the end of my junior year, I got (scholarship) offers, and I kept it. This year I was like, ‘I want to go back to my old self,’ so that’s what I did.”

When he got to Fresno State, he was issued one of those big numbers. As a freshman, he wore No. 38. The change, Bryant said, was about confidence; key for a cornerback.

“I play more confident when I have my old number, like I used to in high school,” Bryant said. “I had to ask to get it out of retirement. Shout out to Coach Tedford because he’s the one who helped me do it. He put in a good word and that was it.”

Petrucci, who was an all-conference selection in 1977 and ’78, converted 88 consecutive PATs, at the time the second longest streak in NCAA history, had never been asked for permission to bring No. 14 out of retirement.

“It was something that was done very well by Jeff,” Petrucci said. “He described the player to me. He had him do his homework on what my career was all about and he asked me very nicely if he could use it. He said he doesn’t make the exceptions for everybody – it has to be a pretty exceptional kid both on the field and off the field, so I was glad to do whatever I could to help out the team.

“At some point in time, I’m going to maybe go out to practice and meet the young man and shake his hand, look him in the face and say, ‘Hey, make me proud, man.’”

Why did Petrucci wear No. 14?

“I just got assigned it,” he said. “At the time, I had numbers through high school and stuff, but when I got to Fresno State Coach Sweeney just assigned me that number. At the time, it didn’t have any special meaning. Of course, it has developed into a pretty special number. I use it for all my lottery picks, that’s for sure.”

No. 8

Free, as a freshman, is not allowed to meet with the media until he has played in a game. But Scott, who has worn No. 8 since he arrived at Fresno State, said simply that he liked the number, liked the way it looked. His choice, more about style. He wore No. 1 in high school, but there was something about No. 8 and he enlisted some help to get it.

“I asked Derek if he could ask David if I could wear it and he said, ‘Yes,’ and I’ve been wearing it ever since then,” Scott said. “Derek put in a good word for me.”

David Carr, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, gave Fresno State permission to allow other players to wear the No. 8 when it was retired and it has been in use quite often.

Defensive back Sharrod Davis wore No. 8 in 2008. Rouse was in No. 8 from his freshman season in 2009 and the number was worn by safety Phillip Thomas in ’09 as well; Thomas, the first unanimous All-American in school history, switched to No. 16 the following year as a redshirt sophomore. Now, it is Scott and Free.

“I was a big Troy Aikman fan. I was a big Dallas Cowboys’ fan and he was just the guy,” David Carr said. “I liked (Brett) Favre and that carried on, because Derek liked Brett. But Troy played for the best team. When I was in junior high school and high school, they were the best team playing. They were my grandfather’s favorite team. They were all from the Dallas area and their quarterback wore No. 8.

“I had a couple of other numbers when I was younger, but from my freshman year in high school on I wore No. 8.”

It has proven a popular number.

“I still have that red No. 8 hanging up in our gym,” David Carr said. “It’s the only jersey I have hanging up from all my time playing, that Fresno State jersey, so it’s pretty special.”

It’s a safe assumption that No. 4 will be, as well.

Bell was assigned the number when he arrived at Fresno State in 2015 and had no particular ties to it, but he feels much differently now.

“I love it now,” he said. “A lot of greats have worn it before, the great Derek Carr. I’ve been blessed to wear it here, so it means a lot now. When I see him I’m for sure going to ask him, because the Raiders are my favorite team, he’s the quarterback on my favorite team and he went to school here. Shout out to Derek Carr.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2017 at 6:55 PM with the headline "The stories behind the unretired ‘retired’ numbers at Fresno State."