About the Georgia Tech helmets…

No news, but just wanted to clarify a couple things and share some thoughts from the ever-quotable Roddy Jones.

1. The “GT” logo will be added to the helmet when it will be prepared for game use. The Buzz logo is unlikely. The school has sought to use the “GT” mark as its primary brand over the Buzz logo.

2. The helmet and whatever alternate uniform accompanies it almost certainly won’t be used on an ongoing basis. Expect the standard look – gold helmet, white jersey, gold pants at home, gold helmet, white jersey, white pants  on the road – to continue.

3. Yellow jackets, or yellowjackets, do build nests with hexagonal cells. It’s not only honey bees. According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program website, “commonly build nests in rodent burrows, but they sometimes select other protected cavities, such as voids in walls and ceilings of houses, as nesting sites.”

4. Schools besides Oregon that have used or will use alternate uniforms – Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Navy, Army, Ohio State, Stanford and Wisconsin. Nebraska’s uniforms … oh, my.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Tom Osborne put these together.

5. I spoke to Roddy Jones this morning for a story for next week about Tevin Washington. At the end, I asked him for his thoughts about the helmets and the trend of alternate uniforms. Per usual, he was insightful and quotable. I’ll yield the floor.

On uniforms as recruiting tool: “Everything in recruiting is about cool. You go places and you want the ‘wow’ factor. That’s why weight rooms are as big and as flashy as they are. That’s why coaches’ offices are as flashy as they are. That’s why facilities keep getting upgraded. It’s obviously to make the (current) players happier and give them the best, but it’s mainly about getting recruits, because it’s the lifeblood of the program. The things that appeal to a 16-, 17-year-old kid are much different than what college graduates think of. What do they look at? They look at the schools that are cool. Obviously, you don’t want a team full of guys who just are there for the uniforms, but if you get one or two guys now and then who came because they think the uniforms are cool, what’s wrong with that?”

“There’s really no downside to it. It’s kind of the ‘in’ thing now, and it’s kind of the college football landscape. When you play in these games, you get cool stuff, you get cool uniforms. It’s as much a fashion show as a football game.”

On if there’s anything to “look good, play good”: Being here and working in here yesterday (as an intern in the GTAA), once I heard that the helmets were new, I went down there to see them for myself. Guys were excited. I can’t speak to how practice was, because I wasn’t out there yesterday. I don’t know. … But if you can give them the extra little bit of pep to get through practice or practice harder, I think it’s done its job.”

6. You may not have been aware, but coincidentally, the Tech men’s basketball team’s new uniforms also made a private debut at the team’s picture day. They are considered a nod to the past (note the similarity with the uniform Rich Yunkus wore) and a bridge to the program’s future. I like the shadow trim. Not a hexagonal cell to be found.

Tech hall of famer Rich Yunkus

In case you missed it…

Tech uniforms: ‘A lot of things in the pipeline’

Broderick Snoddy, Tech’s potential game-changer

B-backs remain a question mark

Jeff Schultz’s column on Tech’s defense

B-backs still unsettled for Georgia Tech

Recalling the 2000 Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech lightning game

Ready or not, Jabari Hunt-Days to start vs. Hokies

Quayshawn Nealy buying in to Tech defense

Jeremy Moore’s opportunity arrives

Orwin Smith setting bar high

Thanks for reading.

Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog