Tre’Davious White Latest LSU Player Awarded Number 18

LSU Cornerback Tre’Davious White was awarded the prestigious Number 18 Jersey by the LSU Tigers this week.

The number was worn by LSU QB Matt Mauck during the campaign that netted LSU the 2003 National Championship. After he graduated he wanted to do something special for the program to remind future teams of how much they can accomplish if they fight through setbacks and overcome adversity.

These were lessons Mauck himself knew well.

He had chosen professional baseball out of high school but washed out of the Cubs organization before coming to LSU, and suffered a serious season ending injury in his first year as starter. He followed those setbacks by setting an LSU record for TD’s on the way to a National Title.

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There isn’t a set list of rules laid down for awarding the #18 jersey, that I am aware of. The player who gets the jersey is always one of the teams leaders.

They stand out for toughness, character, and that ability to overcome adversity that was so important to Mauck when he first handed the number down to Jacob Hester in 2004.

Jacob Hester was a running back who played nose tackle for his high school team because they needed someone and he was willing to do the dirty work.

He was a 2 Star recruit who famously dropped LSU from the top of the recruiting rankings when he accepted his offer. Even more famously he put LSU into #1 place in the real rankings with a heroic performance against Florida his senior year.

After Jacob Hester’s run in the number 18 jersey it was passed on to Richard Dickson.

Dickson became the most productive Tight End in LSU history wearing the jersey and it was passed to Richard Murphy next before going to Brandon Taylor in 2011.

The jersey meant a lot to Brandon Taylor because he had a foot injury very similar to the one that ended Matt Mauck’s first season as starter, and like Mauck he found a way to overcome the injury and win back his starting job.

After Taylor; Bennie Logan, Lamin Barrow and Terrence Magee all wore # 18 for the Tigers.

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Seeing Tre’Davious White swapping out his old number 16 for the # 18 jersey is a great sign for Tigers fans.

Many who follow LSU athletics closely have had White on their radar as a future star and possible high draft pick since his freshman year.

Knowing that he has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches can only reinforce the feeling that those high expectations will be met this year.

Next: Is The LSU Football Roster Turning Into A Revolving Door?