A Week in Review
Hello, all! Welcome back to another week of Uniformity. Before I dive in here, I’m going to allow you all to catch your breath. I know that my heart pressure is just getting back to normal after the Sun Devils’ thrilling win over Washington State on Saturday. Standout performances from Jayden Daniels, Eno Benjamin, and Brandon Aiyuk outshone the competition. Of course, the uniforms did as well. Just like the fight song says, “Long may our colors outshine all others.”
The gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant combination had a traditional feel, but the gold facemask and gold pitchfork decals gave it a modern flare. It was new, yet still quintessentially ASU. Jerry Neilly and his equipment staff really have quite a secret weapon in their hands with the gold facemasks. While I still prefer maroon masks on the gold helmets overall, I must say, I am very pleased with how sharp they gold masks have looked with both the white and gold helmets.
Overall, from a distance, while the gold facemask added a sense of flair, the gold pitchforks got lost on the helmet and made them look somewhat blank. Up close shots on TV or the big screen were great, but a normal shot during gameplay on TV, or anyone sitting a bit away from the field of play didn’t have a great view of the decals. That’s really the only critique, as it was an otherwise successful effort put forth again by the Sun Devil Football Equipment Staff.
Gold Helmet/Maroon Jersey/Gold Pants: A-
The Week to Come
Uniform
The Sun Devils shook a monkey off their back by responding to success with more success. A win over a Top 15 team on the road earned them a spot in the Top 20 themselves and they stood up to a difficult challenge and came out on top. They are now in a position when they travel to Salt Lake City to take on Utah. First, they could win a 3rd consecutive road game, a feat in itself which has not been accomplished by many Sun Devil teams this millennium. Second, they could win a 3rd consecutive road game against a ranked opponent as all 3 of the Sun Devils’ first road games in this 2019 season have come against teams that are ranked at the time of the game. The most important thing that ASU fans would like to see this weekend is more points on the board than the Utes at the end of 4 quarters, but what they’ll be seeing all game long are the uniforms.
When they travel to Salt Lake City, the Sun Devils will wear a gold helmet/white jersey/white pant uniform combination. It will be the second time they’ve ever worn this combination of base elements with the first time ever coming against Washington in Seattle last year. The white jersey features a sublimated Arizona state flag in representing the sunset and the star across the chest in lieu of identifying text which is on the back of the jersey. The maroon player numbers on the uniforms are outlined in gold on both the front and back of the jersey, as are the TV numbers on the sleeves.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the black Sun Devil Bold font and above the nameplate is a small, maroon “ASU” outlined in gold. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a black adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a maroon and gold Pac 12 shield, and a white and gray “150” patch signifying the 150th season of college football as well. Last, but not least, at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend, Pat Tillman.
The white pants have a small gold pitchfork with black trim near the right hip and a black adidas logo near the left hip. The text “Sun Devils” runs vertically along the side of the left thigh in maroon Sun Devil Bold font. There is paneling on the pants that features the darker tonal gray, not only providing further dimension to the uniform as a whole but also serving a purpose in providing greater range of motion.
Helmet
The gold helmet worn this week will be very similar to last week’s helmet with the only difference being a slight decal detail. This week’s helmet will feature standard-sized maroon pitchfork decals with gold trim and, for the second week in a row, a gold facemask. The front bumpers will be both 2D and 3D with a gold base and maroon font that reads PT*42, also honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman.
The maroon decals on the back of the helmet include the Pac 12 shield, the outline of the state of Arizona with a small pitchfork over Tempe, and even the text in the Warning label. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by small Sparky decals on either side of the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats & Socks
ASU will wear white cleats this week. The two sets of cleats pictured below feature the adidas Adi-Zero cleats on the top row and adidas Freaks on the bottom. The Adi-Zeroes are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks are typically worn by heavier players (linebackers and linemen).
Beginning with the top row, the Adi-Zero on the left features a white base and white sole, a white tongue with maroon accents, white laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep near the arch. The Adi-Zero in the middle is a standard low-top Adi-Zero Primeknit with all the same features. The pair on the far right is a mid-top Adi-Zero Primeknit and has the same features as well, but the white opening rises higher up on the ankle.
The pairs of adidas Freaks on the left and in the middle also feature a white base and sole, with three maroon adidas stripes near the ankle on the outside of the shoes and three maroon adidas stripes near the arch on the instep. They both also have a white tongue and white laces. The Freak low-top is on the far left and Freak mid-top is in the middle, rising higher up the ankle. The Freak Torsion on the far right has a white base and sole. It also has three white adidas stripes on the outside of the shoe. There is a very large maroon adidas logo on the inside of the shoe. The tongue and large shoelaces are both white, and a small, maroon adidas “Freak” logo can be found on the white heel loop.
Along with the white cleats, the Sun Devils will also be wearing white socks.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear gold gloves this week, and as with the cleats, there are different gloves for different positions. The gloves on the top are Adi-Zeros which are typically worn by speed position players like wide receivers and defensive backs. Each glove features a gold pitchfork with maroon trim overlaying a tonal state flag pattern on the palm of the glove. They also have a white adidas logo on the back of the hand and maroon accents on the knuckles and the wrist-wrap.
The gloves in the middle are adidas Freaks, worn by larger skill position players such as linebackers and tight ends. The adidas Freak gloves have a pattern of small, repeating adidas logos that are gold in color on the white palm, along with a large maroon adidas logo that is completed when the palms are placed together. The adidas Freaks also have a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand and a black wrist-wrap.
Finally, for linemen, the gloves on the bottom are white adidas Freak-Max, which boast extra padding on the heel of the palm meant to withstand all of the contact that linemen endure throughout the course of a game. They are plain white with black padding on the palm and along with a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, they also a have gold accent on the wrist-wrap and knuckles.
Reaction
This look is both clean and a little loud all at the same time. Introducing the gold facemask gives it much more of a pop than it had when it was worn against Washington in 2018 with a maroon facemask. As anyone who reads this column with regularity knows, I usually prefer a dark element to anchor the uniform as a whole. This upcoming week’s combination does not satisfy that. With a maroon facemask, it would tie into the jersey numbers more.
Gold facemasks are the star of the show this week. Thus far this season, it has truly worked for the uniforms, but whether or not that’s a good thing this week remains to be seen. As always, the final judgment is always reserved until after the game. This game is a 4 pm kickoff local time which means we will see how this uniform looks both under the sun and then under the lights as the game wears on. This gives a great opportunity to see how the uniforms stand up under different lighting. I look forward to seeing these on the field this weekend.
What Color Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold
