Boston College Football: Retire #12, #40 and #94 ASAP

DL over at Heights and Lows recently took at the prospects of naming the Boston College basketball court and football field, coming to the conclusion that BC should eventually name the football field "Flutie Field."

"If GDF needs one more Hail Mary to distract everything he's bungled over the last few years, I would in no way, shape or form be surprised if he chose to take a specific route.

Flutie Field at Alumni Stadium. It's going to happen.

Flutie hasn't seen the field since last playing with the Patriots in 2005, and while he did some time with ESPN, it's much more likely to see him in the Plex playing pick-up these days. We are now a little less than three years away from the 30th anniversary of November 23, 1984 and the anniversary of Flutie's Heisman winning season. Flutie will be 52. It'll be the right time."

Has a nice ring to it, eh? Not bad. Not bad at all.

With Boston College LB Luke Kuechly winning the 2011 Dick Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, I was thinking along the same lines as H&L earlier this week. My thoughts turned to other ways for GDF to distract from fans intelligently questioning the litany of half-truths and excuses about the last few years of Eagles football.

I immediately jumped to this conclusion: Boston College should retire the #12, #40 and #94 jerseys, like, yesterday.

The football program has retired just two numbers in program history -- #22 (Doug Flutie) and #68 (Mike Ruth). Seven other former Eagles have received the honor of having their jerseys (without numbers) retired -- Art Donovan, Bill Flynn, Gene Goodreault, Mike Holovak, Charles O'Rourke, Tony Thurman and Louis Urban.

The problem as I see it is that it's been quite a few years since Flutie's Miracle in Miami and Ruth's 1985 Outland Trophy. Over 25 years, to be more precise. In fact, members of this year's senior class weren't even born the last time one of BC's football greats donned the maroon and gold.

What better way of connecting the past to the present than by retiring Matt Ryan's #12, Luke Kuechly's #40 and Mark Herzlich's #94? If memory serves, a pre-req for having your jersey retired is you have to have won a major National award. Haven't Ryan, Herzlich and now Kuechly all achieved this feat?

During his senior season, Matt Ryan won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given annually to the nation's outstanding senior quarterback in college football. Ryan led the Eagles to an 11-3 record, the program's first ACC Championship Game appearance and a victory in the Champs Sports Bowl over Michigan State. He's the only Eagle to have won the Golden Arm award which has been given annually since 1987. Ryan also came away with the Manning Award and was named ACC Player of the Year in 2007.

Herzlich, a 2008 All-American, won numerous awards for his courage in his battle with Ewing's Sarcoma and return to the field in 2010, including including the Disney Spirit Award, Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award, an honorary Lott Trophy, and the ACC Commissioner's Cup.

And now Kuechly has earned the 2011 Dick Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker.

Of the three, it's seems like it's more a question of when and not if the school retires Kuechly's #40, but I would argue all three former Eagles greats are more than deserving of the honor. And fast.

As for the timing, I'd argue that if Clemson can retire C.J. Spiller's number not half a year after he graduated from the school, then BC can retire #12 and #94 next season. And when Kuechly makes a decision and finally turns pro, then #40 should join Flutie, Ryan, Ruth and Herzlich as a retired jersey.

I can't think of a better way of bridging the generation gap between Ruth and Ryan than retiring all three former Eagles football jerseys. We've been trading on the Flutie magic for quite some time now. It's time for the current generation to stake its claim on Boston College football history by retiring Ryan, Herzlich and Kuechly's numbers.

Make it happen, Gene.