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PROVO — No other BYU football player will wear the No. 6 jersey.
The Cougars officially retired the jersey worn by former quarterbacks Marc Wilson and Robbie Bosco, and star running back Luke Staley during the Cougars’ game Saturday afternoon against No. 10 Wisconsin, hanging memorial replicas from the rafters outside the press box at LaVell Edwards Stadium during a halftime ceremony.
“I’ve been working at BYU for about 28 years and I will not lie: every football season, I check out who is wearing No. 6 and how they are doing,” Bosco said during a pregame press conference. "I watch them. I think it’s a number that means something to me."
“Look at the guys who wore No. 6: it’s phenomenal to have these guys (in Wilson and Staley), as well as James Dye — one of the greatest punt returners to ever play here. It’s cool to follow all of them and that number.”
In all, 17 players have worn the No. 6 jersey, according to records kept by BYU football. The list includes former standout running back Curtis Brown, former Lehi quarterback Cade Cooper, and Dye.
But the trio that ushered in the sixth jersey to be retired in BYU football history put up remarkable accomplishments. BYU has also retired the jerseys worn by Eldon Fortie (No. 40), Marion Probert (No. 81), Steve Young (No. 8), Gifford Nielsen and Ty Detmer (No. 14), and most recently Jim McMahon (No. 9).
“Every time I ran out of that tunnel, I felt so proud to put on that stadium and to be part of that legacy,” Staley said during pregame remarks prior to BYU’s kickoff against No. 10 Wisconsin.
Whether by longstanding prep tradition or happenstance from former BYU equipment manager Floyd Johnson, each No. 6 left a remarkable mark on BYU football.
Wilson went 22-4 as a starting quarterback at BYU, becoming the school’s first consensus All-American and finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1979.
A winner of the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1979, Wilson finished his career with 7,637 passing yards and 61 touchdowns before being selected in the first round of the 1980 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders.
He spent 11 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Raiders in Oakland and Los Angeles, the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots.
Wilson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996, six years after his induction into the BYU athletics hall of fame.
“It’s an amazing honor, absolutely phenomenal. But I don’t really think of it as an honor to me, but to the team that we had in 1979,” Wilson said. “This is a great honor, and it’s been fun this week to reflect back on my time at BYU and how great it was to play here.”
Bosco led the Cougars to the 1984 national championship with a perfect 13-0 record, the program’s biggest achievement to date. He went 24-3 as a starter and finished his career with nine NCAA records, including 8,148 passing yards over two seasons.
A Baugh Trophy winner in 1984, Bosco finished third in the Heisman voting in 19984 and 1985 and was drafted by the Packers in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He went on to coach quarterbacks at BYU From 1990-2003 and currently works as BYU’s Varsity Club director.
“To me, this is the greatest sport out there,” Bosco said. “A lot of great people have worn the No. 6 at BYU, and I feel very fortunate to be here with these two guys.”
Staley finished his BYU career with a school-record 1,582 rushing yards despite opting for the NFL draft with one season of eligibility remaining.
A Doak Walker Award winner, given to the nation’s top running back in 2001, Staley led the nation with 24 rushing touchdowns, averaged 8.1 yards per carry and scored 15.5 points per game. The 1999 MWC Freshman of the Year, Staley was selected in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the BYU athletics hall of fame in 2015.
“The first No. 6 I realized at BYU was James Dye,” Staley said. “There have been a lot of people who have worn No. 6, and it’s a good number — and I think it’s just their number. James Dye, Curtis Brown, and others who have had huge successes in the stadium.”
