Michigan Finally Gets It Right With Funchess And Countess [BLOG]
By Brian Chapman
Since the start of the Brady Hoke era in Ann Arbor, he and his football team have fumbled the distribution of important numbers and embarrassed themselves with the Legends patch program. In the last three years, six numbers have been elevated to legendary status: 11, 21, 47, 48, 87 and 98. These numbers became legendary because they were world by legendary players like Gerald Ford, Tom Harmon and Desmond Howard, but their significance has been diluted by handing them out along with a Legends patch to a bunch of mostly average players who weren't legends before the patch and didn't become legends after wearing the patch.
For example, last year Devin Gardner earned a Legends patch and the No. 98 (which is a defensive tackle's number) basically because he won the starting job for the 2013 season. He finished the 2012 season with five good, but not great games and certainly not five legendary games. Those games included a loss to archrival Ohio State and the bowl game defeat to South Carolina. What's so legendary about losing those two critical games? He was unquestionably promising in those five games, but for Michigan to honor a player with a Legends patch just for being promising is an example of how low the bar has been set in Ann Arbor and to earn an important number like Tom Harmon's.
Then Gardner came out in the 2013 season in full regression mode. Instead of willing his team back to a BCS bowl (or anywhere close to it,) he led them to a 7-5 record and a matchup with Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Instead of helping his team get better as the season progressed, he led the Wolverines to five losses in their final seven games. Instead of improving his pocket presence and using a legendary sixth sense to make up for a porous offensive line, he developed a habit of dropping back an extra five to ten yards when he felt pressure. Instead of becoming an accurate passer known for ball security, Gardner completed just 60% of his passes and was a turnover waiting to happen.
Last year for Gardner was hardly the stuff of legends. He did not come close to competing with Braxton Miller for the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year as you would expect a Wolverines legend to do, but apparently it was enough to impress the University of Michigan into to letting him keep the No. 98 and his Legends patch for the 2014 season.
Another, even better example is the No. 21 worn by former Heisman trophy winner Desmond Howard. Wearing it basically means nothing now because of how Michigan has handed it out. I believe that a number like No. 21 should be given to a returning star receiver who will be in the mix for Big Ten receiver of the year, national receiver of the year, a first or second round selection in the next NFL draft and, considering what Howard did, perhaps contend for the Heisman trophy. Instead, it became the pat on the back award for being the best returning wide receiver on the team, regardless of how skilled he was compared to other Big Ten and national competition.
Think about it. This "legendary" number worn by a Heisman trophy winner has been given to the likes of Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree and Jeremy Gallon in the last three years. What did Junior Hemingway do to deserve that number? How about 32 catches, 593 yards and 4 TDs the previous year. Then he followed it up with 34 catches, 699 yards and 4 TDs in his "legendary" season and was selected in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL draft. What did Roundtree do to deserve that number? How about 19 catches, 355 yards and 2 TDs the previous year. Then he followed it up with 31 catches, 580 yards and 3 TDs in his "legendary" season and was not selected in the 2013 NFL draft. Finally, what did Jeremy Gallon do to deserve that number? How about 49 catches, 829 yards and 4 TDs the previous year, which was a good, but not legendary season. Then he followed it up with 89 catches, 1,373 yards and 9 TDs in his "legendary" season. Finally, a great season… But then it took until the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft for a team to select him.
Hemingway had a few great moments, but certainly did not have a legendary season at Michigan, Roundtree has already been forgotten by most Michigan fans and who knows what will become of Gallon. All I know is that only Gallon had a great statistical season with a legends patch on his jersey and not one of them looked like a legend coming into his final season at Michigan meaning not one of them deserved to wear it. But Michigan gave the number and those patches to those players anyway, making a mockery of the patch and Howard's legacy.
However, Michigan has finally gotten it right with wide receiver Devin Funchess and cornerback Blake Countess. These two actually had great seasons a year ago and appear to have what it takes to become great players again this season and great pros whenever they chose to take the next step. Funchess made a seamless transition from tight end to wide receiver last year, appeared to be on the verge of stardom and may have gotten there had it not been for a poor supporting cast on the offensive line in the back field and under center. All Countess did was lock down his side of the field and lead the conference in interceptions. In short, Funchess and Countess did what legends in the making are supposed to do and deserve whatever patch or number they receive.
But before we get all gung ho about praising Brady Hoke and co. for finally getting it right, let's give get credit where credit is due and that is to Charles Woodson who has a large say in who wears the No. 2 jersey and former No. 1 wearing wideouts like Braylon Edwards who have a large say in who wears that jersey. They have fought hard to ensure that their jersey numbers are not passed out liberally on a first come first serve basis like Halloween candy and have waited to give out their numbers until a deserving returning player has earned that it with strong play the previous season.
Perhaps we should also give credit to Countess and Funchess for choosing not to wear those Legends patches and the accompanying jerseys this year. If I were them I wouldn't want to be associated with the Legends patch program since it seems to just make a joke out of the former Wolverine stars who worked hard to make those numbers mean something. For Countess, the legendary No. 11 is not being hogged up by a teammate of his and most likely would be his if he wanted it, but Countess is wearing a patch-free No. 2 anyway. Devin Funchess took it a step further. He was already wearing the legendary No. 87 along with a patch and he chose to dump the patch in favor a patch-free jersey with more prestige that was harder to obtain.
Where one can give Hoke and the Michigan football staff some credit is for not continuing to make the same mistake of handing out all of the Legends patches and accompanying numbers this year just because they can and they are available. This year no one is wearing No. 11, No. 21 or No. 87 and that's a good thing because no one deserves it.
Moving forward, if I was a Michigan alum I would not add a ridiculous Legends patch to the jerseys of Countess and Funchess. I would also leave messages at the athletic department until they agreed to end the program. But I'd also feel encouraged that some people are still fighting to keep certain numbers special and realize that the only two numbers that actually mean something in The Big House are the two hardest numbers to earn: No. 1 and No. 2.
