Helmet design deviations.
Last year I noticed subtle differences in the Michigan helmets. For instance, Denard's hat has a 3D contoured stripe and the wings extend further up on the helmet than Tate's. The brand looks the same to me, but I'm wondering why the difference? I could be accused of being anal about this, but it's piqued my curiosity.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
protect the dreads.
EDIT: I appreciate the love, but make sure that Bando gets his due respect for providing an actual answer.
If I had to take a guess, I would just say it's because it's a practice helmet - not an official uniform. If you notice the guy behind him has the same helmet from the right picture.
Michigan football players have exactly one helmet their entire career, unless one is broken beyond repair. There aren't any practice helmets. Every year the helmets are sent to the manufacturers for repairs/refurbishment.
I'm pretty sure these deviations have to do with the difference in the placement of ventilation holes in different models of helmets. Also, if you look at Michigan football helmets over the years, there's been tons of variations and changes to the very basic design.
I was unaware of this. Interesting factoid.
There was an article about it describing Michigan's procedures in sending helmets to the manufacturer for reconditioning, but I can't find it now. I did, however, find this on a website for people who collect game-used equipment:
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=17595
Riddell helmets are painted and reconditioned by a company called All-American in Ohio. Where the winged helmet design is painted on by template.
Schutt and other brand helmets are painted and reconditioned by a company called Capital Varsity. Where the wings and stripes are painted BY HAND with hand-applied masking tape by a seventy-year-old guy named Russ Hawkins. He's been doing it for over 40 years.
Here's another article about him:
http://www.oxfordpress.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/01/23/op…
So, there's another reason why there's occasional deviations.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
thanks for this, very cool
March 24th, 2010 at 10:00 AM ^
This is partially true. Players are re-sized each fall so a lot of times the player is issued a new helmet then. Also, you'd be surprised how many helmets that are sent off to get refurbished end up as scraps because of minuscule cracks or malformations from bashing heads.
Also also...new brands/models of helmets pop up all the time and UofM Football (as a big brand school) get dibs on a lot of these, so players frequently are allowed to switch to a new model.
of being anal about this.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
Gross
that's not what she said
I think its the different brand of helmet. The older Riddell modeled helmet which I believe Denard is wearing has a stripe that sticks out and Tate's helmet is a Schutt. In high school I remember some teammates preferring the Riddell helmet and they all had the stripe that stuck out.
Amazon has mini-helmets of each. Not positive how accurate they are, but I don't notice any raised stripes on these.
Schutt:
http://www.amazon.com/Schutt-Collectible-Football-Helmet-Michigan/dp/B0…
Riddell:
http://www.amazon.com/Michigan-Riddell-College-Replica-Helmet/dp/B000BE…
March 24th, 2010 at 12:24 PM ^
They are different helmet brands and thus different designs. There are several manufacturers of both college and pro helmets and each have subtle differences. This is one of them.
They wear different shaped helmets in practice and in games. I have always noticed that Tate's helmet is broader than a lot of others. Broader shaped helmet = flatter wings. Not-as-broad helmet = rounder wings. I am not sure why his helmet is shaped differently, but it is.
Tate's helmet is also HUGE. It makes him look a little bit like a bobblehead doll.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
Is it that Tate's helmet is huge or that Tate is so teeny tiny that it looks huge on him? I think the latter.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:04 PM ^
No, Tate is definitely small, but that helmet just does not look right. Maybe he needs a junior size, but that helmet does not fit his head.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:58 PM ^
I have heard he just has a very wide head. Seriously.
(Innuendo not intended.)
They do not wear different shaped helmets between practice and games....this is false.
Same helmets worn during the week as on game day. They are just washed/scrubbed, touched up w/ paint, and polished for games.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
I thought my statement might be confusing - I was referring to another poster's comment that they did wear different helmets in practice and games. I meant that Tate's helmet is different from Denard's both in practice and in games, thus they wear the same helmets for each, but their helmets are different. I am sure someone said it much better than I.
Fair enough...I rescind my "false" and offer "true" as a peace offering.
Carry on.
They have different helmet brands, different style.
I think it's to help slow Denard down so the refs can actually see him as he crosses the goal line.
I think its actually for stabilization purposes myself. One missed step at dilithium speed could cause him to go into a flat spin.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^
This must be true, if only because it allows for a concise explanation of last season:
Ray Roundtree must have accidentally left his own helmet in the lockerroom at halftime at Illinois, and was forced to borrow Denard's for the first series of the second half.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
(sorry)
March 24th, 2010 at 11:57 AM ^
because Denard runs so fast, the heat generated by the air friction across his helment has deformed the shape of his wing....Kind of like a space ship during re-entry....
...to Denard's. As we all know, it is better to look good than to feel good.
They are different types of helmets (if you look close Tates sides are more rectagleish and lace has triangles). Schutt, Revolution, Riddell, Adams and every helmet company all have very subtle difference that Im guessing prevent the same wings on every helmet
There are at least two brands and multiple models of helmet being used on the team - Denard, I believe, has a Riddell, with the more classic round shape, while Tate wears a Schutt, which is much more contoured. It's just a matter of preference for the players.
Update: here's a photo where you can see the brand names (Tate's on the strap, Denard's on the back). Note the pronounced contouring around the ear on Tate, while Denard's has a simple round hole shape.
I also see vent holes on Tate's hat which probably prevent the wings from extending higher.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:03 AM ^
Nice pic, and although Tate does wear a Schutt, you can't ever trust the strap to be of the same brand as the helmet...I remember alot of guys used to swap them out all the time.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
is now being used for photographic evidence of helmut usage. I feel like we could solve the Kennedy assassination with the brainpower we have assembled at mgoblog.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
and to the left.
But my admiration of your creativity is offset by the uneasy feeling I now have inside from you freeing a memory that was once repressed.
I think I'm going to be sick.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:21 AM ^
to you and Bosch. Too soon?
March 24th, 2010 at 10:47 AM ^
It was a single magic bullet.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:01 PM ^
magic loogie....
Hernandez!
March 24th, 2010 at 10:24 AM ^
It looks like Tate wears the new helmet design that came out a few years ago. I think it helps with preventing concussion's. I know P. Manning wears this style also.
Peyton Manning wears a Riddell Revoution which was also what Chad Henne wore while he was at Michigan:
Other players that used the Revolution that you might be familiar with are Will Campbell, Mike Martin, Stevie Brown, Larry Fitzgerald.
Tate wears the Schutt DNA helmet, newer design, generally looks a bit wider than traditional helmets. Steven Threet also wore this one.
Other helmets that are popping up are the Riddell Revolution Speed helmets. These are futuristic looking and feature jagged edged facemasks. I saw a lot of players last year switch to it midseason including Donovan Warren, Carlos Brown, Jonas Mouton, Obi Ezeh, and Mark Moundros. I believe Mike Williams wore one for the entire season :
Denard wears the traditional Riddell Helmet, easily recognizable with its round shape and a raised strip that goes down the center from the front of the helmet to the back.
Schutt also makes a helmet very similar to this design.
Schutt:
Comparing this to the helmet Denard and Devin wear, you can notice that the Schutt helmet has vents on the top that are absent from the Riddell, as well as a smooth surface that is not as spherical.
I've always wondered why players still use the old Riddell helmets. A lot of people i've talked to said that the newer Schutt and Revolutions are much more comfortable and the increased protection they provide is apparent from the moment you strap them on. It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation with concussions and older helmets.
I noticed in the first spring practice video that Campbell and I think Hawthorne are wearing the new Xenith X1 helmet.
March 24th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
i wonder why Tate went with a new face mask this year? just wondering...
March 24th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^
This is the rankest, armchair speculation, but maybe it was his concussion last year that led to the switch.
I read an article years ago that discussed concussions in football players. A lot of it was about a dentist in Massachusetts who'd theorized that concussions were often caused by an impact to the jaw, which created, in effect, a shockwave that was transmitted to the brain, causing an injury to the brain tissue itself. The dentist invented a mouthguard that cushioned shocks to the jaw and seemed to prevent a lot of concussions. A lot of Patriots' players wear them and, I think, the team has a lower than average incidence of concussions.
If the dentist was right, changing the shape and configuration of the facemask could change the protection of the jaw, maybe for the better.
BUt if anything, Tate's new facemask would offer less protection.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:52 AM ^
Screw the helmet - I want to know what brand manufactures Denard's shoelaces.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^
This is pretty OT, but I have a story about football helmets. My brother was up here this summer interviewing to be an anesthesia resident at Michigan. They have a casual dinner after the interview at bdubs, and at this dinner he started talking to a neurosurgeon that had been working there for over 30 years. The neurosurgeon started talking to him about football, and then about how he was involved in a football helmet research study back in the 60s or 70s. The research project was to test what kind of football helmet was most effective, so what they did was got a bunch of different helmets, put them on monkeys, and shot them OUT OF A CANNON INTO A WALL. Afterwards, they would examine the monkey's brain to see how much damage was done. How crazy is that???
My brother was 90% sure this guy was not lying and completely serious. The image of shooting monkeys with football helmets into a wall was really funny so I thought I would share!