I know we have requirements for this and that tyrod does not meet those. But I can't help but think that he deserves the honor more than anyone I can personally think of. Based on what he did for the program. Kid left everything he had on the field every time he ran through that tunnel and for Christ's sake The Comeback against Nebraska.
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Thats the ugliest panda I've ever seen.
i wouldnt be against it. a lot of schools have less stringent standards for retiring jerseys and numbers than we do.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what are the standards?
This was my question too
you have to win a national award. for instance, ty would've had to win the o'brien, maxwell, or heisman.
Did he not win all those awards?! This is an outrage!
Did not know that. Would the hearts of Hokies everywhere be a close substitute?
I became a student of VT in 2006. It wasn't until that point that I became a fan of football. I had heard the name Vick and knew who he was and from whence he came but little more. I was a sophomore when Tyrod came in for Glennon and took the team down the field for their only score against LSU. I witnessed 3rd and 31 in person. I was at the Nebraska game. Tyrod Taylor was a class act on and off the field and he will forever be one of my favorite Hokies of all time.
That being said, we would not be where we are today without Vick. T-mobile may never have come to Blacksburg had Vick not laid the groundwork for that type of player. I might be wrong here, but I believe Taylor modeled his style after MV7.
I don't think we should retire #5 for Taylor. He is a great QB and a great Hokie and he did great things in his time here, but he didn't take us to a NCG or transform the way the QB position was played and change the landscape of college football. He was about as good as a QB could be without being good enough to have a jersey retired.
Michael Vick, for better or for worse, is a household name..not just in Virginia/Maryland, but across the entire nation. Everyone who knows a lick about football knows who he is and what he did for the sport. Tyrod Taylor, for all the good that he did, will never touch that status.
Edit: I say all of this but I want to emphasize that I'm not vehemently against his jersey being retired. I will be happy for him and supportive if that ever happens. I just don't think it would be an affront to Taylor if #5 is never retired.
What he said.
To be fair, we don't retire jersey numbers anymore, just jerseys. We don't have enough numbers left in the opinions of the powers that be to retire numbers.
I didn't really intend to differentiate between jerseys and jersey numbers...the point is that I don't think we should retire Taylor's jersey.
Retire his jersey? Yes.
Retire his number? No.
Isn't no one's number retired?
nm, looked it up. I knew they stopped doing it but didn't realize Bruce, Loria, Dale, and Pyne's numbers were retired.
I thought they retired CFBs number too.
Don't think so. It was #25 which i am pretty sure Josh Oglesby wore at one point.
That said, I think it would be a really cool tradition to reserve #25 for outstanding cornerbacks. Coach was a CB here and we have a strong tradition at that position. Would be cool to "grant' that number to guys after they prove themselves to be worthy of it. Like last year it should have gone to Kyle. this year maybe it would sit on the shelf or go to Kendall of Facyson, depending on the "standards"
Cool idea. IIRC Beamer's jersey is retired, but not his number. I know there's a link to Hokiesports on this page that will resolve this completely, but for whatever reason, work has decided to block all sites on the VT domain today...
Let's make it happen. I heard Whit Babcock said that any Key Play post with 100+ upvotes automatically gets put in front of him for review and consideration. #fact
#sources
Bring back Stick It In!!!
2 down. 98 to go
No.
Tyrod is one of my favorite Hokies, and his years on the field for us were among my most memorable. We always had a chance to win as long as Tyrod was on the field. That said, I am not in favor of retiring his jersey. The retired numbers and jerseys, in my mind, are for people who had a transformative impact on the program. Tyrod was among the lineage of great Hokie QBs (and great Hokie players, for that matter), but I don't think his legacy is one that changed our trajectory in any way.
did jake grove change our trajectory?
Jake Grove won the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the best Offensive Lineman in the nation, in 2003. He more than fits the mold of a retired jersey awardee for us.
Indeed. He won several awards, including being named an All-American. The Rimington Trophy is, of course, a big one. I think the recognition he received, several years after the National Title run under Vick, maintained or otherwise further elevated our status as a top destination for top players in college football.
i'm aware of that, and i'm not saying grove doesnt deserve his honors. i'm a big jake grove fan. i yearn for some more hogmollies like him. but he didnt transform the program or anything like that.
Perhaps "transform" was a bit strong, but when thinking about some of those names up there - Smith, Beamer, Vick - you tend to think that each had a huge impact on VT's appearance and staying power on the national stage. Grove fits that mold as well.
No.
#getoffmylawn
I would have to say No.....Tyrod was and is a great QB. He was our leader at VT and was a thrill to watch on the field. With that being said, he never took us to the NTCG and did not win any major college awards. I believe for a jersey or number to be retired, you have to be a "household name" nationally and change a program for the better.
No. He was a great leader for VT that probably won us more games than we deserved under Stiney and O'Cain, but no. We give that honor to guys that were regarded as one of the best players at their respective position nationally while they were at Tech. We reserve it for the truly national elite players. At a certain point, you have to admit that we benefitted from a weaker ACC while he was here, and he was never really regarded as that nationally elite player. He was a regional star, but he never entered the conversation for the Heisman, or any awards, outside the ones handed out in the ACC or the Commonwealth. In my opinion, he just doesn't fit the mold of one deserving of having their jersey retired, despite how good he was for us.
I dont get why they retire Jerseys. Vick and Tyrod should both go to the VT Hall of Fame. But, it is an honor for some kids to wear the number 5 or 7 jersey. It sets the standard for current and future Hokies and boost confidence. Just my opinion.
I agree. Retire jerseys, not numbers.
That's already what the deal is. Vick's number is not retired, just his jersey. We stopped retiring numbers.
Tyrod was an amazing player but standards are set for a reason. Tyrod is a top 5 QB all time at VT imo and if he had a chance to RS I believe he would've had VT contending for a national championship in 2011.
He doesn't deserve to get his jersey retired though.
http://www.hokiesports.com/retired/
Thankfully, the VT athletic dept came up with a policy that makes the line pretty clear on who gets retired and who misses the cut.
You have to win a major national individual award to be considered. Heisman, Walter Camp, Maxwell, Nagurski, etc. In other words, you have to be the elite of the elite.
The only other VT QB up there is Michael Vick. Heisman Finalist, ESPY player of the year winner, National Championship Appearance. And my favorite stat - 20-1 as a starter.
Tyrod is in that 2nd tier of great Hokies along with TD Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones, Shayne Graham, Vince Hall, Macho Harris to name a few. Great careers and great Hokies - just not elite.
Stupid NC game. Stupid FSU...should have been 21-0 as a starter.
I never thought I would say this, but if we're going to retire anyone's jersey, it should be Jimmy Williams. The guy was a First-Team UNANIMOUS All-American! He was only the fourth Unanimous All-American in the history of our football program, joining Jim Pyne, Corey Moore and Jake Grove; the other three already have their numbers hanging in the North Endzone.
I love Tyrod to death; I wore his #5 jersey for years. But I just don't think he's at that level.
I'm all for his jersey being retired.
i love Tyrod, but no. If we retired every jersey of a player i loved we would have 50+ jerseys hanging up around Lane. He was a great QB and a great Hokie, but i think getting a jersey hung should be reserved for a program changing player, not just a great one.
I would be ok with retiring his jersey. Although he never had the impact that MV7 had, here are some things he did do that MV7 did not:
-won a BCS game ('08 Orange Bowl)
-win more conference champs than Vick ('07, '08, '10)
-break QB records
Mike Vick wasn't here to do those things, he got a chance to be a number 1 overall draft pick. Not just Joe Flacco's mustache stylist, err, backup QB.
We could always do like UVA and retire their jerseys while they are still playing.
I would be in favor of also honoring/retiring jerseys for player who have won ACC Player of the Year. So that gives Tyrod a yes. David Wilson 11' and Bryan Randall 04' as well.