STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 12: Ryan Scherer #16 of Penn State holds hands with teammates as they take the field against Nebraska at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

It used to be at Penn State you could walk into the Student Book Store on a gameday and do some shopping to pick up a football jersey with your favorite player’s number on it. Penn State has traditionally not worn names on their uniforms, but you knew in 1994 if you were buying a jersey with the No. 12 on it, it was Kerry Collins’ uniform you were buying. Picking up a No. 32? That was Ki-Jana Carter. Years later if you picked up a No. 17, you were getting Daryll Clark’s jersey. This is no longer the case in State College as Penn State is joining a growing list of schools offering the most generic uniform numbers to fans this season; No. 1, No. 16 or No. 94.

Why No. 1? Well, everybody wants to be No. 1, and James Franklin has made it his signature pose to hold up one finger for pictures. And No. 16? That’s easy. That’s representative of the 2016 season. No. 94 is a bit less obvious, but it is likely to honor the last Rose Bowl-winning Nittany Lions squad. Penn State went undefeated and won the Rose Bowl during the 1994 season, although they were passed over for the top spot in the pre-BCS era polls by Nebraska.

Scaling back on uniform jersey number options in recent years has been the result of ongoing legal battles in the NCAA regarding the marketing of player likenesses. Ohio State recently moved to this policy as have other schools chiefly in the Big Ten.

Because college football players cannot be paid for their likeness, selling uniforms wearing their signature number without having a chance to have a cut put aside for the player has always been a bit of a weird position for universities. Some schools or stores will sell the jerseys, whether restricted in jersey numbers or not, and actually print out a sign to let you know what player (or players) actually wear those numbers. It’s a bold strategy that flirts with violating the principle of the rules in place, but the game is changing and shifting in a more generalized direction.

If you were wondering who happens to be wearing the three uniform numbers for sale this season, they are cornerback Christian Campbell, backup quarterback Billy Fessler, safety John Petrishen and senior defensive end Evan Schwan.

[Onward State]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.