LSU sophomore linebacker Kelvin Sheppard knows sharing a number with a teammate can lead to confusion for fans and television announcers.”I remember them saying, ‘Tackle by Ryan Perrilloux’ after I would make a play on special teams,” Sheppard said.He and Perrilloux both sported the No. 11 jersey last season.Assigning one number to two players is a mathematical necessity for the Tigers. LSU’s active roster consists of 104 players whose uniforms must be numbered 1 through 99.The Tigers have 12 jersey numbers worn by multiple players.NCAA rules allow players to wear the same number, provided they don’t participate on the same play.Senior punter Brady Dalfrey is no stranger to sharing a number. He and freshman placekicker Drew Alleman both regularly wear No. 38 on their uniforms.Coach Les Miles pulled Dalfrey aside shortly before the Tigers’ game against Auburn to ask him if he minded wearing No. 30, which is usually reserved for sophomore punter Josh Jasper.”It’s just a number,” the Carencro native said. “There must have been something behind it, so I just went with it.”Dalfrey said the move wasn’t entirely surprising because the team’s equipment managers had been hinting at a uniform change during the week. But he thought it was just a joke.”We didn’t think anything of it,” Dalfrey said. “They would say they’d put us all in one number just to mess around.”Miles never gave a clear-cut reason for the last-minute switch but suggested it might have thrown off Auburn.”It might well have been a cause for Auburn to pause and say, ‘Hmm, I wonder which one’s kicking,'” Miles said after the game.Jasper didn’t punt in LSU’s 26-21 victory.The NCAA prohibits changing players’ numbers during a game, but teams are free to move jersey numbers around from week to week.In his new jersey, Dalfrey averaged 48 yards on six punts, four of which were downed inside the Auburn twenty.He continued his solid play last week against Mississippi State with an average of 46 yards per kick in the 34-24 win.Prior to the equipment change, his punting average was 29 yards.Miles joked that “helium in the balls” might be the reason for Dalfrey’s sudden improvement but insisted the 6-foot senior has taken pride in his job.”He’s always had a live leg but has technically worked the ball better,” Miles said.Other players and coaches, Dalfrey said, believe the jersey switch was enough to get him going.”They told me, ‘You should just stay in 30 every game,'” Dalfrey said. “I just think I’m feeling more comfortable, more relaxed.”Dalfrey was back wearing No. 38 last week against the Bulldogs.He doesn’t know if Miles will ask him to swap numbers in Gainesville when LSU battles Florida but said he’d do anything if he thought it would “trick out the other team.””It’s kind of fun,” Dalfrey said. “They’d never really know who’s going on the field.”Miles said the option of future jersey changes is up to the players.”I kind of like it, but it’s up to them,” Miles said. “As long as our guys are [having fun with it], I’m fine with it.”—–Contact David Harvey at [email protected]
Jersey number changes trick opponents
September 30, 2008