One of the more intriguing stories of the latest news cycle was the spat between Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and LSU.
Daniels is miffed because his alma mater allowed cornerback DJ Pickett to wear the quarterback's No. 5. Daniels had that number when he won the Heisman Trophy in 2023. While it was never formally retired, no Tiger player has worn it since until this year.
Daniels sent LSU a cease-and-desist order for the school to stop using his NIL -- Name, Image, and Likeness-- to promote the football program.
Well, that little cat fight got Green, Gold and Bold to thinking about USF football and retired numbers.
Although USF has retired numbers in men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, and volleyball, there are no football numbers retired.
That needs to change.
There's no better time to get the ball rolling than now as the Bulls prepare to enter their final season at Raymond James Stadium before moving on campus next year.
The ceremony could be part of the final regular-season home game against Tulane, a fitting sendoff to the new stadium.
Here are five players I would suggest are deserving of such an honor.
No. 95, George Selvie
He was a beast at defensive end for USF from 2006-2009. The only two-time All-American in program history. he is the Bulls' career leader in tackles for loss (69.5), sacks (29), forced fumbles (9) and starts (50).
Selvie was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2010 and played six seasons in the NFL with additional stops with the Giants, Cowboys, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Panthers
He was inducted into USF's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
No. 9, Quinton Flowers
His USF career spanned from 2014 through 2017 and it was an electric period for the Bulls. Flowers was the reason why.
By the time he left, Flowers owned 42 team records and he was the first-ever 2,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in state of Florida FBS history. He had 16 career 100-yard rushing games.
In 2016 at Memphis, he recame the first He was also the first American Athletic Conference player to run and pass for 200-plus yards in the same game. He also was a two-time MVP of the Birmingham Bowl.
Flowers entered the USF HOF in 2022.
No. 8, Matt Grothe
He epitomized toughness and raw want-to for the Bulls during his career that ran from 2006-2009. He threw for 52 touchdowns and 8,669 yards and ran for 2206 yards 23 TDs.
Those totals, while impressive, would be considerably higher if Grothe hadn't suffered a career-ending injury in the third game of his senior season.
His 14-yard touchdown to Jesse Hester, Jr. in overtime at Auburn gave the Bulls a 26-23 win, one of their biggest victories in program history. It was also USF's first win over an SEC team.
In the overtime, Grothe ran three times, including a sneak on fourth-and-1. He was inducted into USF's Hall of Fame in 2024.
No. 4, Mike Jenkins
Jenkins played for the Bulls from 2004-2007, and in his final season he finished with career-highs with 41 tackles, three interceptions, four tackles for loss, and 16 passes defensed.
An elite cornerback, he was a first-team All-Big East Conference pick was first-team All-American from the American Football Coaches Association.
That caught the attention of the Dallas Cowboys, who chose him in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played five seasons for Dallas, one for the Oakland Raiders, and closed out his career with two seasons for the Buccaneers.
No. 10, Marquel Blackwell
He played for the Bulls from 1999-2002 and is widely considered to be the standard of excellence at quarterback that USF built upon.
Blackwell compiled a 30-12 record under and, in 2002, led USF to its first nine-win season. He threw for 9,108 career yards and 67 touchdowns.
He was drafted by the New York Jets and later went on to a coaching career. He was the head coach at Tampa's Freedom High School for two years before stops at USF, Western Kentucky, Toledo, West Virginia, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.
He currently is the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at UConn.
By the way, here are the USF numbers retired in the other sports:
Men's basketball -- Charlie Bradley (30), Chucky Atkins (12), Radenko Dobras (31).
Women's basketball: Wanda Guyton (41), Shantia Grace (3).
Baseball: Former head coach Robin Roberts (36).
Volleyball: Michelle Collier (10).
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