BYU to retire No. 6 jerseys of Wilson, Bosco and Staley

PROVO, Utah (June 23, 2017) — Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco and Luke Staley, will receive the BYU Athletic Department’s highest honor on Saturday, Sept. 16 at LaVell Edwards Stadium, when the No. 6 jersey—worn by the trio of All-Americans—will be retired during halftime of the BYU-Wisconsin game.

“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,” BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe said. “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.”

Individual banners with each player’s name and No. 6 will be unveiled and permanently displayed on the press box at LaVell Edwards Stadium as part of the halftime ceremony at the Wisconsin game.

Throughout the history of BYU football, dating back to 1922, just six jerseys/numbers have been previously retired — Eldon "The Phantom" Fortie (No. 40), Marion Probert (No. 81), Steve Young (No. 8); Gifford Nielsen and Ty Detmer (both No. 14); Jim McMahon (No. 9). Wilson, Bosco and Staley (No. 6) will join this elite group.

Wilson’s record as a starting quarterback at BYU was 22-4. He broke nine NCAA records and tied two others. He was BYU’s first consensus All-American and finished third in the 1979 Heisman Trophy balloting. 

In 1979, Wilson won the Sammy Baugh Trophy along with being named an NCAA Top Five Award winner and NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winner. He also won WAC Offensive Player of the Year and led the NCAA in total offense. 

Wilson threw for 7,637 yards and 61 touchdowns, leading BYU to WAC titles during all three years of his starting career. 

Selected in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Wilson played 11 NFL seasons with four teams, including two Super Bowl champions — the 1980 Oakland Raiders and the 1983 Los Angeles Raiders. He also played for the Green Bay Packers and New England.

Wilson was inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 and in 1996 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He earned his degree in economics. 

Robbie Bosco quarterbacked BYU to the 1984 National Championship with a perfect 13-0 record. He was 24-3 as a starter and broke nine NCAA records, including tallying 8,148 passing yards over just two seasons. 

Bosco was named an All-American by the Associated Press, United Press International, The Football News and The Sporting News during his junior and senior years.

In 1984, Bosco won the Sammy Baugh Trophy while leading the nation in total offense. He finished third in the Heisman voting in both 1984 and 1985 and in the top three of the Davey O’Brien award voting both seasons. 

Bosco was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft and went on to coach quarterbacks at BYU from 1990-2003. 

Inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, Bosco currently serves as BYU’s Varsity Club director. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in communications and earned a master’s degree in exercise science in 1990.

In 2001, Luke Staley led all of Division I college football with 8.1 yards per carry and scored 15.5 points per game. The powerful running back finished the year with a school-record 1,582 rushing yards. Staley also led the nation and set another school record with 24 rushing touchdowns, and added four more receiving touchdowns for a school single-season record of 28. 

At the conclusion of the 2001 season, Staley won the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back, and was a Consensus All-American, receiving first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Football News, the Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Foundation.

During his junior season in 2001, Staley led one of the most productive BYU offenses of all time as the Cougars led the nation in points (46.8) and yards (542.9) per game. The Cougars went 12-2, winning the Mountain West Conference. 

Staley played for BYU from 1999-2001, before entering the NFL Draft after his junior season. In 1999, he was named MWC Freshman of the Year and the Sporting News awarded him with third team Freshman All-America honors.

Staley was drafted in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft by Detroit Lions. He is the BYU career leader in total points scored by a non-kicker at 290 and was inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. He graduated from BYU with a degree in sociology.