Safeties have generally stuck to numbers that range between 20 and 49 in the NFL. Many Chicago Bears greats followed that trend. Gary Fencik was 45. Mike Brown was 30. Rosey Taylor was 24. Mark Carrier was 20. Dave Duerson was 22. Eddie Jackson was 39 (during his best years). However, some players have charted a different path. Richie Petitbon wore 17, which was traditionally considered a quarterback number. Then there is Jaquan Brisker, who took the ultra-rare path of selecting a single digit: #9.
This was not something that came out of the blue. The former 2nd round pick had worn singular numbers since high school. It started with #3, moved to #1 at Penn State, and finally #9 in Chicago. Is there a reason for this approach, or did it just happen to turn out that way with jersey assignments? Brisker spoke to Lauren Screeden about it on a YouTube feature. It turns out there is a heartfelt reason the safety went with #9. It was a tribute to his late brother, who died in high school.
Jaquan Brisker is a player who thrives on emotion.
He hasn't hidden his motivation over the past few years. Tale' Brisker was shot and killed in Texas in 2015 during his freshman year of college. The two were extremely close and played together in high school. Jaquan Brisker never forgot the final words his brother said to him.
“Our last conversation, he said, ‘Just do your thing in football.’ He was in college, it was his freshman year. He just told me, ‘If anybody in the family makes it, it will be you.’ That stuck with me. … I knew I had to do it for him. My mindset has always been to do it for my brother. Every day I come out here and practice, or at a game, it doesn’t matter if I’m sore, it doesn’t matter if I hurt, I know I gotta do it for him.”
This goes a long way in explaining why Brisker plays with such passion every Sunday. He is trying to do his brother proud. The Bears have offered nothing but support to their young safety, letting him play the game his way. It certainly produces results. All they can hope for is that he stays healthy in the process.
