Uniformity is back, and it has a new home at Devils Digest. Let’s take a look back at some of Sun Devils football’s 2018 uniforms and peek at what’s ahead in 2019.
New Home, Same Uniformity
Welcome to the 5th season of Uniformity and the coverage of Arizona State football’s uniforms, equipment, swag, and beyond. Uniformity has a new home this year on the finest website in Sun Devil Nation: Devils Digest.
I spent three great seasons of writing for azfamily with Brad Denny, co-host of the great Speak of the Devils Podcast, as my acting editor. Words cannot express how truly grateful I am to Brad and azfamily for entrusting me to get the scoop on ASU football uniforms whether it was being the first to break the latest uniform combination or reporting on the restrictions placed on uniform combinations. Without Brad and azfamily, I would have never been granted this opportunity at Devils Digest.
I’m also so very grateful to Hod Rabino for welcoming me into the Devils Digest family. It feels incredible to be a part of the greatest website in Sun Devil Nation!
Finally, I would like to thank all of you, the readers, who have found me and continue to read week-to-week each Fall. I’m excited for another season of Sun Devil football with you all! Now, let’s talk uniforms.
A Year in Review
Arizona State’s 2018 college football campaign was, like the previous 2 seasons, one of highs and lows. A new coaching staff was in place after the unconventional hire of Herm Edwards who had been out of coaching for nearly a decade. There were some in Sun Devil Nation that were excited about the hire, others that were staunchly against it, but all were very curious as to how things would turn out.
The Sun Devils’ season began with a 2-1 start in the non-conference schedule highlighted by a gritty win at home against Michigan State. As the season wore on, the team was more competitive than perhaps many may have expected, but they experienced near misses as they suffered one-touchdown losses to San Diego State, Washington, Colorado, and Stanford. However, the Devils remained in contention in a Pac 12 South division ripe with parity until the end of the season aided by a 3-game winning streak with victories of USC, Utah, and UCLA. Unfortunately, the Herm Train’s Pac 12 South bid was derailed by a 2-point loss at Oregon. ASU responded in a big way the following week in the Territorial Cup game as they emerged victorious after surmounting a 19-point deficit in the 4th quarter. After securing the Territorial Cup and keeping it home in Tempe for another year, the Sun Devils then went to the Las Vegas Bowl and struggled in a loss to Fresno State.
After all, was said and done, the Sun Devils had a 7-5 regular season, finished 2nd in the Pac 12 South and suffered a bowl loss for the second consecutive year. New coach, same results. Despite the familiar results, ASU and Herm Edwards exceeded the expectations of many fans and national pundits with the season’s performance. Most noticeable was the number of close games the team had and a substantial, marked improvement on the defensive side of the ball. The curiosity factor is still high in Tempe, and it will be interesting to see what happens for the Devils in this upcoming 2019 football season.
2018 Uniforms in Review
2018 brought new uniforms for the Sun Devils. Shiny numbers and pitchfork sleeve accents were retired to make way for a simplified look that blended classic collegiate style with a modern flare. The maroon, black, and white base jerseys boasted a sublimated Arizona state flag on the chest of the uniform in lieu of a team name. A small “ASU” was instead placed on the back of the jersey at the base of the neck. The pitchfork accents on the sleeves were replaced with TV numbers – that is, player numbers on the sleeves so they may be seen on a TV broadcast. Also replaced was the shiny, iron-on print with stitched details.
Handcuffs are still on the equipment staff in terms of creativity and the use of copper. That fact was apparent in 2017 and it was yet again in 2018. Luckily, the new generation of uniforms from adidas brought plenty of intrigue and proved to be a vast improvement over adidas’s introductory effort after taking over for Nike as ASU’s uniform provider in 2015. The Week 1 traditional maroon and gold combination impressed and set the bar high for the rest of the season.
The Blackout uniform was not to be outdone and looked incredible as the Sun Devils wore them in a win against Michigan State the following week.
Week 3 of the 2018 season brought with it the third consecutive week of uniform highlights. The Sun Devils wore a new decal set on their white helmets which included a large gold pitchfork with maroon trim on one side and maroon player numbers with gold trim on the other.
It has almost become a tradition that the military appreciation uniform has something special to offer and the 2018 edition did not disappoint. The Pat Tillman inspired uniform featured a classic maroon and gold home combination with the jersey stylized like the 1996 team of which Tillman was a part. The twist to this jersey was that the traditionally colored maroon top had sublimated maroon camouflage and a quote from Pat on the back. The gold helmet worn with this uniform combination showcased a new decal setup as well. Along with the large gold pitchfork on one side of the helmet, a new PT*42 shield decal was on the other.
The limitations set forth on uniform variety were still seen, but equipment manager Jerry Neilly and his crew found great ways to keep things fresh in 2018. A new generation of uniforms aided in their cause as they piqued the interest of many not just in Sun Devil Nation, but also the entire nation.
The Season to Come
As I write this article, there has already been some intrigue surrounding the topic of uniforms. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Sun Devil Equipment twitter account (@SunDevilEquip) released a picture that may be a sign of things to come.
Safety has always been the top priority when it comes to equipment, but there also seems to be a rededication to safety as one could discern from this picture released by @SunDevilEquip which features helmet models that are top-of-the-line in safety standards.
Tens of thousands of eyes in Tempe and across the country seek out to see what Arizona State is doing with their uniforms on a week-to-week basis. With another clean slate ahead of them, I expect that the Sun Devil Equipment staff will flex their creative muscles and make the team look great all season long. I’m excited to cover their exceptional work along the way for Devils Digest. Let’s celebrate some great Sun Devil looks and some better Sun Devil wins here in 2019.
Welcome back to Uniformity!
