USC Football Recruiting: Commits Get Numbers, Ty Isaac Gets No. 32

Via Instagram (tyisaac).

Over the weekend, USC hosted a slew of recruits, many of them commits, as the Trojans held their annual official visit for early enrollees. The highlight of the group visit was a tour of the Coliseum, which featured a stop at the locker room and a video montage for the players to watch as they stood on the field.

In the locker room, the Trojans had specially made prototype jerseys hanging in lockers for each player, a recruiting ploy that just about every school uses. The most notable jersey getting a look? The one laid out of Ty Isaac, as it was adorned with the number 32, which has not been worn at USC since O.J. Simpson won the school’s second Heisman Trophy in 1968.

At Joliet Catholic in Illinois, Isaac wears No. 32, the likely reason for the number’s unveiling. Even still, it’s probably a gigantic stretch that the Trojans would bring the infamous number out of retirement, especially since the prototype didn’t feature USC’s traditional typeface for their block numbers.

Mike Garrett’s No. 20 was put back into circulation for Darnell Bing in 2003, but that was both a recruiting ploy and a tip of the cap from Garrett himself, giving it to the Long Beach Poly safety as an honor. In basketball, O.J. Mayo wore No. 32 in 2007-2008, which was plenty awkward given the legal demise of his Simpson namesake.

If Isaac somehow was granted the number, it would be especially awkward as a highly-touted running back, not to mention the immense amount of pressure it would put on his shoulders, wearing the same jersey as college football’s greatest running back of all-time.

Max Browne tweeted his No. 4 jersey, which could make him the first Trojan quarterback to wear No. 4 in a game since John Fox in 1999. In the keeping-with-high-school theme, Justin Davis got Curtis McNeal’s No. 22, and so on and so forth.

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What do you think? If you were Lane Kiffin or Pat Haden, would you issue No. 32 to Ty Isaac? It’s probably the most infamous number in college football given the context, but is it time for a change? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts below in the comments.

Should Ty Isaac wear No. 32 at USC?

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