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Louisville to retire Lamar Jackson's No. 8 jersey

Andy Lyons / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Lamar Jackson will have his No. 8 jersey number retired by the University of Louisville during a ceremony at the Cardinals' Nov. 13 home game against Syracuse, the school announced Saturday.

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback was evidently surprised by the news:

Johnny Unitas is the only other player in Louisville history to have his number retired; the school honored his No. 16 in 2003.

Jackson, 24, played for Louisville for three seasons from 2015-17. He became the first Heisman Trophy winner in school history in 2016 and the youngest player to ever win the award at 19 years old. He passed for 9,043 yards and 69 touchdowns during his Cardinals career and rushed 655 times for a school-record 4,132 yards and 50 touchdowns.

Jackson quickly became one of the NFL's top quarterbacks after the Ravens selected him with the No. 32 pick in the 2018 draft. He was named league MVP in 2019.

"Lamar earned the Heisman and then the NFL MVP, and he's not even 25 years old. Even more remarkable, he's only getting better," said Louisville vice president and athletic director Vince Tyra.

Tyra added: "His humble heart and grounded approach endears him to his teammates, his coaches, and any staff he's ever been around. He knows it takes 11 to be successful on offense, not one. We're so proud to retire his No. 8 for what he has accomplished so far but are equally excited about what's to come. This city has big Ls up for our guy."

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