When will we see Georgia football retire another number?

Georgia football has four retired numbers, and there is no honor within a program greater than having a number retired. In college football, it is a scarce occasion. Georgia had not retired a jersey number since 1985, when the famed 34 got worn for the last time.

The four retired numbers are No. 62 for Charley Trippi, No. 21 for Frank Sinkwich, No. 34 for Walker and No. 40 for Theron Sapp.

All four of those guys are some of the biggest Damn Good Dawgs, so it’s understandable why no one else can wear their jerseys. However, we’re posing the question of when the next jersey retirement could happen for the Dawgs.

What will it take for the Dawgs to retire its fifth jersey? Will it ever happen? If Stetson Bennett rocks the college football scene this year and miraculously wins another national title — would his number be up for consideration?

Georgia football could retire another number in the future, but who?

While three of the four jerseys saw retirement due to exceptional careers, Sapp got his jersey retired due to an exceptional game.

Going into Georgia’s 1957 game with Georgia Tech, they had lost eight consecutive games to their in-state rival. Not only losing eight in a row to Tech, but Georgia hadn’t scored a touchdown in any of the last four games.

That all changed when Sapp recovered a fumble while playing on defense. Then on the next offensive drive, he scored a touchdown. Sapp was known as the “Drought Breaker,” and his number was retired in 1958. He would graduate from Georgia, scoring six touchdowns in his career.

Those numbers are a far cry from Walker. He rushed for 5,259 yards and scored 52 touchdowns. Walker was the first college football freshman to be named a first-team All-American. He would be an All-American three times and win the 1982 Heisman Trophy.

Sinkwich also won a Heisman Trophy in 1942 — the first winner in program history. Georgia also won its first national championship that season, and he earned All-American honors twice. Sinkwich totaled 60 touchdowns in Athens, including 30 passing and 30 rushing. He scored the only touchdown for Georgia in the 1943 Rose Bowl, a 9-0 win over UCLA to claim the program’s first national title.

Trippi won the Maxwell Award and played for the undefeated 1946 Georgia football team. He was unanimously selected to the All-American team that season. Trippi played for Georgia during its 1943 Rose Bowl game. He began his Georgia career in 1942. However, after the 1943 season, Trippi left Athens to serve time in the US Air Force during World War II.

The retiring of numbers is a rare occasion in college sports, more so than in professional sports. With the constant cycle of players coming and going, numbers are reused very often. In professional sports, an athlete may have a number fifteen to twenty years. Also, the number being retired in college could hurt recruiting.

This summer, former Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison transferred to the University of Southern California. Addison wanted to wear the number 3 as he wore at Pitt. The only problem was USC retired the number to honor Carson Palmer. Addison has mentioned he had spoken with Palmer, and Addison will wear the number 3 for the Trojans in 2022.

There are usually some rumblings around Georgia, mostly the fanbase, about Georgia retiring another number. The first one mentioned is the No.  47 worn by David Pollack. He is the only three-time first-team All-American in Georgia history.

Pollack won the Lombardi Trophy and the Bednarik trophy. When he graduated, his class left Georgia as the winningest class ever. Easily one of the most decorated players to ever wear the Red and Black. However, his number is not retired. The number has mostly been worn by walk-ons Andrew Williams, Chad Gloer and Dan Jackson. Defensive end Ray Drew wore the number from 2011 to 2014 as well.

One I’m sure will gain some momentum in the future will be the No. 99 for Jordan Davis. He did not light up a stat sheet, but his presence on arguably the greatest defense of all time should not be overlooked. He was an All-American and won the Bednarik and Outland trophy in 2021.

He helped lead Georgia to its first national championship in 41 years. Along with his phenomenal play and hustle, Georgia fans will forever love Davis for his personality. His giant smile was contagious. He was always having fun and making people smile. Davis represented the university at an elite level, and we do not throw that word around easily around here.

The last one I will bring up is the one I mentioned earlier—  Bennett’s No. 13. He not only led Georgia to a national championship, but his story is incredible.

Bennett is us — a Georgia fan since birth doing what we all dreamed of as kids. He is a former walk-on, so he has done it the hard way. Bennett walked on, left for junior college, then came back to be a third-string quarterback and had to bust his rear to earn playing time. That hard work led to him being the title-winning signal caller that much like Sapp, ended the drought,

Imagine if he wins two national championships. No. 13 would not just represent a national championship quarterback. It would represent believing in yourself when nobody else does.

Is there any number you believe should be retired?