Osbourn retires Brandon Hogan's football jersey number

Brandon Hogan has been involved in many “firsts” over the past six years.

Hogan was the quarterback for the Osbourn High School football team when it won the school’s first state championship in that sport in 2006. After four stellar years at West Virginia University, Hogan became the first former Eagle to be drafted by a NFL team. And when he stepped on the field with the Carolina Panthers in December, he became the first to play in a NFL game.

During halftime of Friday’s boys basketball game between Osbourn and Stonewall Jackson, Hogan achieved another “first” – he became the first Osbourn player to have his jersey retired.

Hogan, former Eagles football coach Steve Schultze and Director of Athletics Ira Degrood unveiled a framed blue jersey showing “B HOGAN” and his familiar number 21 in a special ceremony each of the participants hopes is the first of many at the Manassas school.

“It means a lot to me to have my jersey retired,” Hogan said. “Only great players receive this type of honor, and I’m happy to be known as a great player at this school.”

Schultze, who stepped down in December as head coach after 10 years with the Eagles, said while no criteria has been officially established for retiring jersey numbers at Osbourn, he and Degrood decided the time was right to set a precedent with Hogan.

“Brandon deserves this,” Schultze said. “I want his life story to be an inspiration to the youth of Manassas about continuing to work hard through life’s setbacks and believing in yourself to reach your dreams and goals.”

“I like the idea of being a role model,” Hogan said. “Hopefully, I can show a lot of young people that they can accomplish things in life.”

Growing up with an inconsistent home life in Manassas, Hogan found refuge in football. With the stable influence of guardian Karen Morris and Schultze’s guidance on and off the field, Hogan became the News & Messenger’s Player of the Year and the Associated Press Group AAA Player of the Year in 2006 as he led Osbourn to a perfect 14-0 record and claimed the Group AAA Division 6 championship.

During that senior season, Hogan compiled 4,182 yards of total offense and accounted for 59 touchdowns. In his three-year varsity career, he finished with 8,651 total yards.

“It feels great,” Hogan said of being honored by the Osbourn community. “So many people here all helped to get me where I am today, especially Coach Schultze and his family, but also the [school] administration and teachers. I thank them all.”

Hogan earned the scholarship to West Virginia and spent his freshman season as a wide receiver before moving permanently to cornerback. He flourished as a defensive player, earning all-Big East Conference first-team honors as a junior in 2009 and second-team accolades as a senior. Hogan ranked third on the Mountaineers with 74 tackles as a junior, including a team-high 46 solo stops, and he finished his career with seven interceptions.

In April 2011, Hogan was selected in the fourth round (the 98th selection overall) of the NFL Draft by Carolina. After tearing his ACL against Rutgers in December of 2010, he had surgery on his left knee and opened the NFL season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. But he was activated on Nov. 8 and appeared in three games, making three tackles.

Hogan continues to work on completing his degree in athletic coaching education from WVU by taking on-line classes. He needs 18 credit hours to achieve another first – the first in his family with a college degree.