Marc, Robbie and Luke were tremendous athletes who were instrumental in establishing and adding to the great tradition of BYU football. They have also been true ambassadors for the university. – BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe
PROVO — As a freshman, quarterback Robbie Bosco was sitting in the BYU locker room when equipment manager Floyd Johnson came around the corner and threw a jersey at him.
Bosco looked at the jersey, emblazoned with the No. 6.
“I was like, ‘OK, I’m No. 6, I guess,’” Bosco remembered. “I had that jersey ever since. I had no choice. I had no idea or what it meant or what it would mean.”
Some 35 years later, that No. 6 jersey will be retired — honoring not only Bosco, who led the Cougars to the 1984 national championship, but also quarterback Marc Wilson and running back Luke Staley, who also brought glory to that number.
BYU will hold ceremonies to retire No. 6 during the Wisconsin game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Sept. 16. Individual banners with each player's name and number will be unveiled and permanently displayed on the press box.
"Having your jersey retired at BYU is the ultimate honor reserved for the elite student-athletes who distinguished themselves in athletic competition, in the classroom, and in the community," said athletic director Tom Holmoe. "Marc, Robbie and Luke were tremendous athletes who were instrumental in establishing and adding to the great tradition of BYU football. They have also been true ambassadors for the university."
The trio of Cougars made indelible marks on the program and they admire each other's accomplishments.
“I’ve looked up to these guys,” Bosco said of Wilson and Staley. “Marc Wilson is the first thing that popped out about why I wanted to come to BYU, what he did on the field. Luke, I was able to coach and see what a special player he was. I don’t know that Luke gets enough credit. He was as good a running back as you’ll ever see in college football. It’s awesome to be with both of those guys.”
“That’s what makes it really fun,” Wilson said of being honored with Bosco and Staley. “That’s a pretty exclusive group to be a part of. It’s a great honor. I’ve known Robbie forever. I think the world of him and his family. I’ve never met Luke. I’ve watched him play and I’ve been a great admirer of his. The chance to meet him and to be able to share this memory with both of them will be fun.”
Like Bosco, Wilson received the No. 6 jersey from Johnson. Wilson suited up for one varsity game with that number even though he didn’t wear No. 6 in practice. After the game, Wilson asked Johnson, the equipment manager, why he had given him that number.
“That’s pretty obvious,” Johnson replied. “You’re a Seattle kid and there’s a famous quarterback from Seattle named Sonny Sixkiller (a former Washington Huskies star). That’s why I put No. 6 in your locker.”
After replacing an injured Gifford Nielsen midway through the 1977 season and platooning with Jim McMahon in 1978, Wilson led the Cougars to an 11-1 record and their first top-10 ranking as a senior in 1979.
Staley actually wore No. 26 as a freshman in 1999 because that season No. 6 was worn by senior defensive back Kevon Morton. In 2000 and 2001, Staley donned No. 6 and he produced the most prolific rushing season for a Cougar running back in 2001 when he gained 1,582 yards and scored 24 touchdowns (both are single-season school records) en route to earning the Doak Walker Award, emblematic of the nation’s top running back. Staley holds the BYU record for most career rushing touchdowns with 41.
“It’s odd that one name goes up there (on the stadium) but you can’t do it on your own. You’re a small contributing factor. Hopefully my teammates feel honored, too,” Staley said. “It’s a complete honor. Growing up, it’s nothing I would have ever expected. I just wanted to come to BYU and be a part of something and (hope) that you could contribute something. I didn’t expect to start. I just wanted to be part of this program that I grew up idolizing. That speaks to our teammates and what we were able to accomplish.”
Staley became the first BYU running back in the modern era to have his jersey retired. The other players to have their numbers retired in recent decades — Bosco, Wilson, Jim McMahon (No. 9), Steve Young (No. 8), Ty Detmer (No. 14) and Nielsen (No. 14) — are all quarterbacks.
When legendary coach LaVell Edwards retired at the end of the 2000 season and Staley learned that Gary Crowton would replace him, Staley considered leaving BYU.
“There was talk about Gary Crowton coming in and I was pushing for Lance Reynolds to get the job,” Staley recalled. “Gary was coming in and I thought I would never touch the ball. I always thought I could contribute more if I stayed healthy. Gary did a phenomenal job of putting people in position to succeed. The pieces were in place. We were all LaVell’s guys. It was a matter of putting players in the right position to succeed.”
Staley also has the distinction of having his own cheer. Whenever he broke off a long run or scored a touchdown, the crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium would yell in unison, “Luuuuuuuuuuke!” in his honor.
“My last two games at my high school fans started doing it,” Staley said. “It’s unique, it’s magical. Being on the field and hearing that, you know you just made a play or did something special. It was fun.”
Two years ago, when Staley was inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame, Holmoe told him that his number would be retired at some point.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Staley said. “I have a wonderful family and two great kids. I’m happy for them to see this.”
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was Staley’s teammate in 1999 and 2000.
“He’s a great friend of mine and a great teammate,” Sitake said. “I was older when he came in as a freshman and I knew right away that he was special. I never saw anyone do the things he did athletically.”
With No. 6 being retired, current Cougar running back Trey Dye, who has worn that number, will wear No. 4 this season. Dye's father, punt return extraordinaire James Dye, also wore No. 6.
Detmer, who now serves as BYU's offensive coordinator, is happy to see his fellow Cougar quarterbacks, and Staley, recognized in this way.
“I saw Robbie win the national championship. That’s why I’m here, probably. That opened my eyes to BYU,” Detmer said. “You could probably go down the list of each quarterback and who they saw play and why they came here. It’s because of another guy. They definitely put BYU on the map and created the legacy that other guys like myself wanted to be a part of. It’s well-deserved and I’m glad it’s happening this year. I get to work with Robbie and I’ve gotten to know Marc and they’re humble people. Luke as well. They’re not fishing for it or being political about it.”
Wilson didn’t play with Bosco, but they’ve established a close friendship. Bosco's achievements helped Wilson with bragging rights in NFL locker rooms.
“Robbie was one quarterback removed from me. I wasn’t out of BYU for very long and the national championship game was awesome,” Wilson said. “When you play in the NFL and your (college) team loses on Saturday, you don’t want to show up for the pre-game meal on Sunday. In those days, we had great teams and it was really fun to show up for a pregame meal on Sunday because in most cases we (had) won. To win the national championship was incredible. I was able to meet Robbie and we became best friends.”
In addition to playing quarterback at BYU (he posted a 24-3 record in two seasons as a starter), Bosco was an assistant coach for 14 seasons before taking his current role as Director of BYU’s Varsity Club. He has witnessed a lot of changes in the program over the years.
Having his jersey retired is “really special,” Bosco said. “It goes to show the hard work, not only that I may have put in but these things don’t happen without great teammates and great people surrounding you and success. You’re not going to get a jersey retired going 1-10. We had a lot of great success and a lot of fun playing and a lot of great teammates.”
Wilson is looking forward to stepping on the field at Edwards Stadium once again on Sept. 16.
“The best part of the whole thing is that it will probably be the last time I’ll have to publicly thank those people who really made a difference in my career,” he said. “I’m talking about teammates, administrators and coaches. You get a chance to publicly thank all of those people. I’m looking forward to that because so many people played a huge part in my success.”