When Jaycee Horn begins his NFL profession this yr, he will not simply be representing an athletic household that features former All-Professional broad receiver Joe Horn. He’ll even be honoring the late Kobe Bryant. Per week after coming into the professionals because the Panthers‘ first-round decide of the 2021 draft, the South Carolina product has introduced he’ll put on a No. 8 jersey, partly in tribute to the previous Lakers star.

Bryant made each No. 8 and No. 24 well-known throughout a 20-year NBA profession, and different NFL gamers have paid respects to the longtime basketball icon, who died in a January 2020 helicopter crash, via their jersey numbers. The Eagles‘ Darius Slay, for instance, switched to No. 24 upon arriving in Philadelphia, Bryant’s dwelling metropolis, from the Lions in 2020. Horn, in the meantime, wore each No. 7 and No. 1 in faculty at South Carolina, switching to the latter after former Gamecocks standout Deebo Samuel gave up the one digit on his personal method to the NFL.

At his introductory press convention with the Panthers, Horn initially entertained the thought of sporting No. 24.

“It is an important quantity, it is undoubtedly in thoughts,” he informed reporters. “I am a few of these single digits, too, although. See the way it works out. My brother was speaking to me about it on the way in which over right here (and) change my thoughts a bit bit. We’ll see the way it shakes out.”

That is the primary season Horn may’ve worn a single digit, too. Because of new jersey guidelines applied this yr, cornerbacks are permitted to put on any quantity between 1 and 49 after beforehand being restricted to 20-49.