Axe: Syracuse football shouldn’t just restore 44. The legendary number needs a reboot

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Syracuse, N.Y. — The rumbles are getting louder to restore the most hallowed number in the history of Syracuse University football.

The latest source of inspiration to put the legendary No. 44 back in action comes from watching Syracuse running back Sean Tucker.

Tucker runs with a combination of power and speed that puts him in his own category. He has accumulated 993 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in his young Syracuse career. Tucker is averaging nearly 5.3 yards per carry and has tacked on 261 receiving yards and a touchdown.

He certainly looks the part so far of what a revived No. 44 could be for SU football.

Tucker agreed he would look good in Syracuse’s most hallowed number, recently posting an SU fan’s social media mockup of him in the 44 jersey to Instagram.

“I’d be honored to wear it if I got the opportunity to wear it,” Tucker told syracuse.com earlier this month. “I’d definitely wear it for the legacy. Just the fact that you’d have three Hall of Famers, NFL players wear it. The greats — Jim Brown, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis. It would be a great honor to wear it.”

You know what?

It’s time for No. 44 to come out of the rafters of the Carrier Dome.

It’s also time for Syracuse to embrace what the No. 44 can be beyond the running back position.

Legendary Syracuse running back Floyd Little, Syracuse’s only three-time All-American and part of a holy trinity of 44s with Jim Brown and Heisman winner Ernie Davis, said many times before his death earlier this year that he would rather see his old number on the field rather than collecting dust.

Syracuse legend Floyd Little runs onto the field at the Carrier Dome during a ceremony to retire the legendary No.44 in 2005.

Little was adamant in those discussions that the honor should go only to a veteran, a junior or senior who has proven himself with his play and shown coaches he’ll stay out of trouble.

“I don’t agree that it belongs in the rafters,” Little said in 2013. “I want to be here when it’s back on the field. I like to be here when they recruit the kid. I like to say, ‘If you meet the expectations we have for you, you can be the guy that can bring back that tradition.”

Floyd’s premise that the number has to be earned is a valid one and should be enacted. It’s a solid step to ensure the legacy and history of the 44.

That was the concern of Brown when asked about the 44 being un-retired in 2015 after the number was briefly reinstated by interim AD Pete Sala.

“I think it probably should be (retired), I think it’s very difficult to try to pick an individual prematurely that’s going to be able to fulfill the shoes of 44,” Brown said.

In his final season at Syracuse, running back Jim Brown rushed for 986 yards and 13 TDs. Syracuse University file photo

It felt right to retire the 44 in 2005. The sense was the impact of the number as a recruiting tool had waned. A new generation of players wanted to forge their own legacy with their own number.

It feels like enough time has passed that the 44 can be a living, breathing thing again and not just a relic.

Tucker’s willingness to embrace the legacy is telling, but it’s more than that.

Imagine the possibilities of the 44 as a tool in the name, image and likeness era.

For those that say it is blasphemy for a position other than running back to don the 44, it’s worth a reminder that has happened plenty of times in Syracuse football history.

Twenty-five men have worn the No. 44 at Syracuse. Fifteen have been running backs or fullbacks. The number has also been worn by quarterbacks, tackles, guards and wide receivers.

For every Brown, Little and Davis, there is a Thomas Stephens, William Schoonover or Glen Moore who didn’t quite add to the fairy tale.

That’s why Little’s idea of earning the number is a good one.

But why just reboot it the old way?

Use the 44 as an incentive for a Syracuse player who has earned it, who wants it and who best exemplifies it, no matter his position.

Would a player like current Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, a rare three-time captain in Syracuse history who set a high standard on and off the field, have been an unthinkable candidate for the 44?

I know the answer to that is no because he currently wears the number with the Colts.

That’s not to say a running back can’t earn the 44 back.

If Tucker turns out to be the best man for the job, that would fit an old narrative well.

Syracuse Orange running back Sean Tucker (34) on a touchdown run as Syracuse takes on Albany at the Carrier Dome Sept. 18, 2021. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

But don’t just spout tradition as a reason to keep the 44 in a certain box.

The use of the No. 44 at Syracuse evolved once. It’s time for it to evolve again. It’s time for it to live again.

It’s time to restore 44 for Syracuse football.

No. Check that.

It’s time to reimagine what the 44 can do for Syracuse football.

Contact Brent Axe: Email | Twitter

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