Uniformity – Week 3: Sun Devils Wearing a New Look Maroon Helmet
Week in Review
Going into a hostile environment against the 11th-ranked team in the nation is a tall order. The Sun Devils held their own against Oklahoma State for more than three quarters last Saturday. In fact, they played a majority of the first half with a lead and even got back to within a field goal in the second half after falling behind by two touchdowns. However, penalties and lack of execution against a very strong Oklahoma State defensive front ultimately gave the Cowboy offense too many opportunities against a tired ASU defense, and the Devils fell on the road. On a night where there were ups and downs, the one thing that consistently looked great was the uniform.
That gold helmet/white jersey/gold pant uniform combination looked incredible just from the perspective of the base elements. The gloss gold finish on the helmet makes an enormous difference on the gold/white/gold away combination compared to the matte gold that was used in the prior decade. The Sparky face decal came off masterfully. It was a fun look that gave a bit of variety and creativity to the helmet yet looked like a classic ASU uniform all at the same time.
It took years to get the Sparky face decal on the logo. This was a long time coming for Equipment Manager Jerry Neilly to finally get the opportunity to showcase this special decal in a way that only further built the identity and brand of ASU. Friend of Uniformity and co-host of Speak of the Devils Podcast, Brad Denny, mentioned on multiple occasions that a great uniform and national notoriety is what happens when you just “Let Jerry Cook.” And that is to be a Uniformity rally cry now. When we want a great looking uniform, we want the athletic department to trust and simply #LetJerryCook.
National uniform trackers took notice as well. UniAuthority ranked it as the 10th best uniform of week 2, a ranking that I personally believe is a bit low. UNISWAG ranked it as the 4th best uniform of the week, which is some better recognition, but based on the uniforms ranked ahead of it, I thought it should have been top 2. This uniform is an early uniform of the year contender for the Sun Devils.
Sparky Face Gold/White/Gold: A+
The Week to Come
Uniform
Eastern Michigan is set to visit Tempe for the final nonconference game of the regular season. The Eagles come in with a 1-1 record and are sure to come in looking to give the Devils their best shot. When they take the field against the Eagles, the Sun Devils will be wearing a maroon helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant uniform combination. This is the first time that the base elements of this uniform combination have been worn together since October 8th, 2013, when they were worn in a 54-13 rout over Colorado. There are a couple of different twists this year, particularly with the helmet, so let’s dive into the details.
As a reminder, these uniforms utilize a process called sublimation, in which heat is used to transfer ink into the uniform, providing a tonal effect within the color scheme of each jersey. The maroon 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. The gold player numbers on the uniforms being worn this Thursday are outlined in black on both the front and back of the jersey, as are the TV numbers on the sleeves. The TV numbers on the sleeves take the place of the pitchfork stylized shoulder stripes.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the gold Sun Devil Bold font, and above the nameplate is a small, gold “ASU” outlined in black. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a gold Adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a maroon and gold Pac 12 shield. Finally, at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend Pat Tillman.
The gold pants have a small gold pitchfork with black trim near the right hip and a maroon adidas logo near the left hip. “Sun Devils” is in maroon Sun Devil Bold font 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 helmet is where things get creative and exciting, as this is the first time the maroon shell will be worn in the 2022 season. This helmet build is the brainchild of Sun Devil Football Equipment’s Assistant Manager, Ryan Barker. It’s his first build since joining the team in the offseason, and what an incredible effort it is. The maroon helmet uses a candy finish color shift paint job. The surface of the helmet directly in front of the eye will appear as the candy maroon finish, but the angles from which light hits the helmet will shift to gold. The maroon color shift helmets have oversized gold pitchfork decals with maroon trim on one side of the helmet and gold player number decals with maroon borders on the other. For the first time ever in ASU Football history, a gold facemask will be worn with a maroon helmet, tying the whole uniform together nicely. The front bumper has a maroon base and gold font that reads PT*42 honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman. An added element to the PT*42 front bumper decal is that the star separating the PT and 42 doubles as the star in the Arizona state flag, with tonal maroon rays rising from it in subtle detail.
The gold decals on the back of the helmet include the Pac 12 shield and the Warning label, which is in the shape of the state of Arizona with a white border, featuring white text, and has a small, maroon pitchfork with gold trim over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the gold “Sun Devils” text over a tonal maroon desert landscape silhouette on the helmet’s rear bumper.
For a more dynamic look at the maroon helmet, see the video below for an example of the color shift from maroon to gold in different angles of light.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear their gold cleats for the first time this season. From left to right, there are three different cleats. The first pair is an AdiZero, the next is a Freak mid, and the last is a Nasty Fly. The AdiZero cleats are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks have a hybrid element and can be worn by mid-size players (fullbacks, linebackers, and tight ends), and the Nasty cleats are worn by heavier players (linemen).
Beginning with the pair on the left, the AdiZero features a gold base and sole, a gold tongue, gold laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent gold AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a repeating pattern of the Forks Up hand sign printed in gold throughout the shoe and a gold finger loop on the heel with the phrase “Forks Up” in maroon print.
The Freak Mid pair in the middle has a gold base and translucent gold sole, gold laces, a gold tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, three reflective maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep. Like the AdiZero, the Freak Mid has a repeating pattern of the Forks Up hand sign printed in gold throughout the shoe and a gold finger loop on the heel with the phrase “Forks Up” in maroon print.
The Nasty Fly is the final pair on the right. The second to last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It is a heavier duty cleat with a gold base and sole, gold laces, gold eyelets with darker gold accents, a gold tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat, a maroon adidas logo on the inside of the cleat near the heel, a small plastic gold plate on the arch, and a finger loop that mimics the styling of the lace eyelets with “Forks Up” in maroon print. The repeating pattern of the gold printed Forks Up hand sign is featured prominently on the front half of the shoe.
An additional cleat option will be available to players as well. The gold and white Ultraboost cleat predominantly features a gold and white knit weave with a white heel, tongue, and sole. The tongue has a maroon adidas patch at the top, and the heel has a maroon Ultraboost logo on the outside part of the heel. The adidas three stripes are each a two-tone maroon and white and appear on either side of the shoe. Towards the toe on the outside of the shoe is a tonal gold “1885” detail which is an homage to the founding year of the school. To wrap up all the details, the inside of the sole features the flame Sparky logo.
White socks will be worn with this uniform as well.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear gold and white gloves, and as with the cleats, there are different gloves for different positions. The gloves on the top are AdiZeros which are typically worn by speed position players like wide receivers and defensive backs. The gold gloves feature gold Sun Devils script on the gold palm of each glove. They also have a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, a small, tonal gold AdiZero wordmark above the wrist strap, tonal gold striping on the wrist strap, and gold stitching along 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 the same gold Sun Devils script on the palm of each glove as the AdiZero gloves.
On the back of the glove, the adidas Freaks also have some extra padding, a maroon adidas logo and gold striping, and a maroon and goldFreak logo on the wrist strap. Finally, for linemen, the gloves on the bottom are adidas Freak-Max, which boast extra padding on the heel of the palm meant to withstand all of the contact that linemen endure throughout 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
It has been far too long. Almost nine full years since the last time maroon/maroon/gold has been worn is far too long. Traditional color base elements worn unexpectedly make for a unique look while still maintaining the quintessential Arizona State identity. I love this look. The helmet build, as we know, is courtesy of Ryan Barker, but it is the student managers who resurrected this incredible uniform combination. Earlier, we mentioned how important it is to #LetJerryCook. Well, he knows the importance of letting his team cook as well. He put full trust in the equipment staff, and they delivered.
ASU isn’t the first team to use a gold mask on a maroon helmet, but it looks like they waited to get it just right. Now, as always, I will withhold final judgment until I see it on the field; however, I have a good feeling about this one. This is a third consecutive very solid look from the best equipment staff in the nation right out of the gate.
As mentioned earlier, the last time this combination was worn was against Colorado in 2014. It was worn only one other time against Utah in September of 2012, a game that ended in a 37-7 win for the Sun Devils. What else is there to say? A great look that already has a 2-0 historical record looking to go 3-0 if the Devils can put away Eastern Michigan? Sign me up. I’m here for it.
What Color ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold
#Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports
Welcome back to #Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports! Uniformity loves to highlight your best gameday #faniforms that you wear to support the Sun Devils each week. As a reminder, with Uniformity’s partnership with Cactus Sports, three #faniforms will be chosen randomly each week, just like in the past, but this season, there will be a weekly Twitter poll to vote for which of those three #faniforms will become a contest finalist. At the end of the regular season, all of the finalists will be entered into a final vote, with the grand prize being a $125 gift card to Cactus Sports! Reminder, when posting to Twitter, remember to use the hashtag #faniform and tag the Uniformity Twitter account @ASU_Uniformity. Here are this week’s selections! Keep an eye out on Twitter for the fan vote! Cast your vote for the best #faniform each week!
Congratulations to @matt_joanes on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @SunDevilDanno, @MrGabeRamos, and @bradley187 in this week’s Twitter poll!
