We've suffered leak after leak after leak, but now we finally know what Maryland's new football uniforms actually look like. The university unveiled the new Under Armour duds tonight, and here's the final outcome:
Those are ten of the sixteen duds. More photos will be up soon. They're sure to be controversial, if nothing else. They'll generate publicity, too, and I'm not above turning that down at the moment.
The jerseys and pants themselves had all been seen before, most notably in NCAA Football 12, which has been out for about a month now. But the helmets are all new, and they're big departures: there are two, one features a turtle-shell overlay, and neither has a logo. There's a white helmet, which features the shell pattern, and a black helmet, which is matte, flat black. The helmet stripe is essentially the Maryland flag, and I have to say it's pretty snazzy.
The helmets will be the most controversial point, I'm sure, particularly as they don't feature a logo at all: no "Maryland", no "Terps", no nothing. The Terrapins are now joining a select group without a logo on the helmet: Michigan, OSU, Penn State, BC, Notre Dame, Army, and Navy. Maybe Alabama, though I feel like the numbers are sort of a logo for them. That's some pretty select company (yes, even you, BC).
The uniforms are meant to sort-of compete with Oregon, which have become the fashionistas of the college football world with their bright colors, crazy designs, and occasional tasteful retro look. The unis have become an ambassador of a sort for the football program, and have drawn positive reviews from recruits, who view that sort of thing as "cool." Hey, whatever gets you ahead.
Kevin Anderson heavily, heavily stressed the impact this would have on recruiting, citing that as the primary reason for the switch - though, truthfully, I don't think he meant to do that.
It's a tool. Is it classic and traditional and all that? No, not really, but neither is Oregon and it worked for them. I don't even care if it's aesthetically pleasing. If you're not a powerhouse, you use whatever you can. They did, so props for that.
More picks forthcoming.