2019 Season in Review

The 2019 season presented a few different twists than we’ve seen in past seasons. For the first time since the rebrand, Sun Devil football only had two helmet colors: gold and white. That fact certainly limited some of the uniform combinations that have been mainstays since the 2011 season, namely the Blackout and Maroon Monsoon theme uniforms. The budget for helmets was dedicated to the highest-graded safety helmets in the industry. The cost for such high-quality equipment consumed the budget usually dedicated to variety; therefore, only two colors could be purchased. Gold was the obvious first choice as it is the true mainstay helmet color. White was chosen because it is essentially a canvas full of possibilities, of which the equipment staff could really use to match any other uniform combination that gold may not be used.

The limitation of helmet colors didn’t stop the ASU Football equipment staff from tapping into their creativity. New decals graced the side of helmets all season long. Gold facemasks were also introduced for the first time. Those details alone made it so even with limited tools in their chest; the equipment staff was still able to create unique combinations with a touch of tradition week in and week out.

2020 Preview

The last time we were all together as a Sun Devil football community, we watched ASU defeat Florida State in the Sun Bowl on the final day of 2019. A few hours later, midnight struck, and the year 2020 entered our lives to turn everything upside down. Through this pandemic, we have, as a global society, experienced things that none of us could have ever foreseen happening in our lifetimes. In times of distress, many of us can look to sports for an escape, but in this case, the pandemic took that away as well.

In terms of strictly football, we have experienced a roller coaster of emotions. First, we held out hope for a full season. After all, the beginning of September left plenty of time to squelch a pandemic after beginning a quarantine in March. Then, all non-conference games were canceled, and a 10 game Pac-12 only schedule was released in which the Sun Devils would have opened up the season defending their Territorial Cup title. Not long after that, the Pac-12 postponed the entire 2020 season, which left questions as to when, or if, we would see a season of Sun Devil football this year. Finally, the Pac-12 announced a 7 game Pac-12 only schedule set to begin on November 7th, with the Sun Devils this time opening against Pac-12 South favorite USC.

With all of that under our belts now, it is exciting to say that we will finally get to witness Sun Devil football in the year 2020, barring any changes between now and Saturday. We may not be able to watch live in our beloved Sun Devil Stadium or travel and tailgate at away games, but one thing for sure is that Sun Devil Football Equipment Manager Jerry Neilly and crew will have the team looking in tip-top shape for all of the Ultra HD TVs to display. In fact, we already know of one uniform that was released to the public last week. The Devils will wear 1975 throwbacks to honor the 45th anniversary of the undefeated Fiesta Bowl champion team against UCLA on December 5th.

I’m looking forward to detailing those more for you all during game week. And now that we have a season, I’m excited to talk about what the Sun Devils will be wearing this weekend. Let’s dive in!

The Week to Come

Uniform

This season, we see the return of the sublimated state flag uniforms for the third consecutive season. This generation is very clean and is the best base uniform since the 2011 rebrand. Opening up the season in November is strange enough as it is, but doing so on the road, let alone against the media’s Pac-12 South favorite in USC, definitely plays into the truth that 2020 is a year unlike any other. In the more recent trips to the Memorial Coliseum, the Sun Devils have incorporated both white and black into their uniform color scheme. However, this year, they are opening up with the Whiteout look against USC.

As a reminder, sublimation is a process in which heat is used to transfer ink into the uniform, providing a tonal effect within the color scheme of each jersey. 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 now on the back of the jersey, keeping with the simplified style that is being seen more in both college football and the NFL.

The maroon player numbers on the uniforms being worn this Thursday 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 right shoulder, is a black and gold Pac 12 logo, and near the left shoulder, is a black Adidas logo. Finally, at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend Pat Tillman.

Pants

The white pants have a small gold pitchfork with black trim near the right hip and a maroon, black logo near the left hip. “Sun Devils” is in maroon Sun Devil Bold running vertically along the side of the left thigh. There is paneling on the pants that features the darker tonal gold, not only providing further dimension to the uniform as a whole, but also serving a purpose in providing a greater range of motion.

Helmet

The white helmet features an oversized maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the right side of the helmet and maroon player number decals with gold trim. Neither of these decals are new individually, but it is the first time that they have been used together on the same helmet. The facemask is maroon, and the front bumpers will be both 2D and 3D with a white 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 small Sparky decals round out the helmet on either side of the helmet’s rear bumper.

Cleats

White cleats with maroon socks will be worn for the Sun Devils’ first game in this 2020 season. The cleats pictured below feature the adidas Adi-Zero, Freak, and Nasty cleats. The Adi-Zeroes are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks and Nastys are typically worn by heavier players (linebackers and linemen).

Beginning with the Adi-Zeros, which make up the three pairs on the left. On the far left is the Adi-Zero Primeknit, which is a mid-top that features a white base and maroon sole, a white tongue, 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 second to the left is a new Adi-Zero Scorch, which features a maroon and white base. The cleat starts as maroon on the heal and digitally transitions to white towards the middle of the shoe. It also features a white sole, maroon tongue, maroon laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent white adidas logo on the instep near the arch. The third pair in from the left is a standard Adi-Zero. It has all the same color features as the aforementioned Primeknit, but instead of a mid-top, it is a low-top and does not feature the Primeknit material.

Next in line is the adidas Freak. The Freak low-top features a white base and maroon sole, a white tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, and white laces. The front of the shoe is Primeknit and has three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe. The back heel of the shoes is leather and has a prominent maroon adidas logo further back on the inside of the shoe near the arch. The two pairs on the right are part of a new product introduced this year called the Nasty line and are meant for the larger players. Second to the right is the Nasty Torsion high-top, which features a white base and sole, white laces, and white tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it.

There are maroon accents near the shoelace eyelets and on the sole underneath the arch of the foot. Three maroon adidas stripes are featured on the outside of the shoe, and a maroon adidas logo in on near the ankle on the inside of the shoe. Finally, on the far right is the Nasty Fly mid-top, which features a white base and maroon sole, white laces, a white tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it, and maroon accents near the shoelace eyelets. Three maroon adidas stripes are featured on the outside of the shoe and a maroon adidas logo near the ankle on the inside of the shoe.

Gloves

The Sun Devils will wear maroon gloves, 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. After a departure from the gloves creating an image when the palms are placed together last year, this year’s gloves display an homage to an ASU and Tempe landmark. When the palms are placed together, a maroon and gold silhouette of A Mountain with a gold outlined A atop the famous butte. They also have a white adidas logo is on the back of the hand and gold accents on the wrist strap. 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. Finally, for linemen, the gloves on the bottom are adidas Freak-Max, which boasts 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 and black two-tone on the palm, and along with a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, they also have gold accents on the knuckles and wrist-wrap.

Reaction

If you’ve read Uniformity through the years, then you know that while it still looks good, the Whiteout has ranked among my least favorite uniform year in and year out. I tend to see it as a bit empty, lacking personality or identity. I don’t necessarily feel that way about this year’s Whiteout.

The helmet featuring the large, maroon pitchfork and maroon number decals matched with the maroon facemask add much more identity to the Whiteout than has really been seen since its first iteration in 2011. The base uniform is a monochromatic white, which to me, means the rest of the uniform’s details should provide some character and identity. This version of the Whiteout accomplishes that. There’s still no guarantee as to where it will land on a list among this season’s other uniforms, but it’s the best Whiteout uniform that ASU has worn to date.

What Color ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold

#Faniforms

Last year, I began soliciting for Sun Devil Nation to post their gameday gear or “Faniforms” on Twitter. The response was amazing, so let’s keep it going. What you wear to support your Sun Devils on gameday is a meticulous process chosen with the utmost amount of care. Maroon, gold, black, white, copper, and everything under the Sun Devil rainbow is handpicked and adorned from head-to-toe. I invite everyone to share that passion with their fellow Sun Devils. Use the hashtag #Faniforms and tag the Uniformity Twitter account at @ASU_Uniformity. There has been an incredible response to it so far, and it has been great to see what all the fans wear to support their Sun Devils on gameday. I will post a few in the Uniformity article each week. They will be chosen at random, so keep on sending them in every week!