Former Bulldog great Logan Mankins has been a finalist for the New England Patriots Hall of Fame for two years.

Why hasn’t Fresno State retired Mankins’ number at Valley Children’s Stadium yet? 

Mankins played 11 seasons in the NFL. He played from 2005-14 with the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots and from 2014-16 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where current Bulldog Head Coach Jeff Tedford was Mankins’ offensive coordinator in 2014.

Mankins was born in Catheys Valley in Mariposa County in 1981 and attended Mariposa High School where he was an all-league player and the MVP of his highschool team. 

Mankins attended Fresno State from 2000-05, where he was a force to be reckoned with at left tackle for the Bulldogs. After his freshman season, he was named to the Freshman All-American first team by Sporting News, giving up only two sacks on the season.

Mankins tore his ACL in 2003 and ended up missing the season. In 2004, Mankins started every game at left tackle and did something incredible. 

He didn’t allow a sack or pressure all season and set a school record of 82 knockdown blocks. 

He was a first-team All-WAC (Western Athletic Conference) and was the first lineman in Fresno State history to win the team’s MVP award. 

The New England Patriots, fresh off of Super Bowl XXXIX victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, took Mankins in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft, becoming one of five Bulldogs to ever be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. 

Upon his NFL debut, he was moved from playing left tackle for the Bulldogs to playing guard for the Patriots. 

During his span with the Patriots, he went on to start 161 regular season games and 17 playoff games, basically every game he was healthy enough to play, and went on to be elected to the Pro Bowl six times as well as being a part of the 2010 first-team Associated Press All-Pro. 

At one point in time, Mankins was the highest-paid guard in the NFL. 

On August 26, 2014, Mankins was traded to the Buccaneers for a 2015 4th-round pick, Trey Flowers who would go on to become a notable defensive end. (which would actually become notable defensive end Trey Flowers). 

Mankins played the final two years of his career, racked up another Pro Bowl selection, and announced his retirement from the NFL on March 8, 2016. 

During Mankins’ professional career, he went on to achieve the following:

• 7x Pro Bowler
• 1x All-Pro
• NFL’s 2010 All-Decade Team 
• New England Patriots All-2000s Team
• New England Patriots All-2010s Team 
• New England Patriots All-Dynasty Team (2001-2019) 

Which brings us to the number retirement part.

Mankins is not part of just one, but three All-Decade teams in the NFL, especially the New England Patriots. Easily one of the greatest sports dynasties in modern sports history. 

Nothing against all the other Bulldog greats who have their jersey number retired at Valley Children’s Stadium. They are all worthy of the honor and have all played a crucial role in building the foundation on what the football program has become today. 

But, Mankins is easily one of the most accomplished players to ever come out of Fresno State and deserves the honor of having his number retired. 

Former Bulldogs with retired jersey numbers:

Trent Dilfer: 

• 1x Pro-bowl
• 1x Super Bowl Champion

Derreck Carr

• 4x Pro-Bowler

David Carr

• 0x Pro-Bowler

Lorenzo Neal 

• 4x Pro-Bowler 
• 2x All-Pro
• NFL All-2000s Team 

If Mankins is good enough for the Patriots, why is he not good enough for Fresno State? 

It’s time to show respect where respect is due and retire the number 74 alongside other Bulldog greats who have helped build up the Fresno State football program to what it is today.