Why does Devin Brown wear 33? Explaining Ohio State QB's uncommon jersey number
It's not uncommon for a player to take the number of their childhood idol. Trevor Lawrence wears No. 16 because his favorite player growing up was Peyton Manning, who wore the number in college at Tennessee.
But you don't often see a quarterback wearing 33.
In the NFL, quarterbacks are restricted from wearing numbers above 19 in the regular season. Teddy Bridgewater wore 50 in the preseason, striking up a bit of controversy. In college, no such rules exist, but it's still rare to see a quarterback stray outside of the common numbers.
Ohio State backup quarterback Devin Brown is doing just that, honoring his family's favorite player through his unorthodox jersey number.
REQUIRED READING: Who is Devin Brown? Meet the quarterback who will back up Kyle McCord
Last year, Brown wore 15 because his preferred number was taken, but he switched back to 33 in 2023, the number he wore from youth football until high school.
Why does Devin Brown wear 33?
Brown wears 33 in honor of former Washington NFL quarterback Sammy Baugh, a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It just kind of came through my family,” Brown told reporters during spring practice in March. “My dad had always talked about it and so I put it on when I was seven years old and had never taken off until high school.”
Baugh played college football) for TCU from 1934-36, where he was a two-time All-American and has his jersey number retired (at the time, he wore 45, which is what's retired today).
More: Ryan Day names Kyle McCord Ohio State football's starting quarterback
Baugh played 18 seasons for Washington and won two NFL championships, was named first-team All-Pro 4 times, second-team All-Pro four times, led the NFL in passing yards four times, passing touchdowns twice, and completion percentage eight times. He also once led the NFL in punting yards and interceptions (as a safety). Washington retired his No. 33 jersey.
Brown called No. 33 "the original quarterback number."
“He said that was something that he’s done for a while with his family and was something that was important to him,” Day said in March. “I said, ‘OK, you’re going to stick out a little bit, you know. Are you alright with that?’ And he said yeah. I said, ‘As long as you guys are good with it, I’m good with it.’”
Where is Devin Brown on Ohio State depth chart?
Brown, a four-star prospect in the 2022 class, battled for the starting quarterback job with Kyle McCord in the offseason.
McCord started the first two games of the season — wins against Indiana and Youngstown State — and is ahead of Brown on the depth chart entering Week 3 of the college football season.
Brown is 8-for-16 passing this season for 99 yards.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why does Devin Brown wear number 33? Sammy Baugh inspires Ohio State QB
