MSU's Pro Combat Uniforms Are Smashing
9/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2011
By Steve Grinczel, Online Columnist
This may sound odd coming from an avowed traditionalist who would have Michigan State's football uniforms looking identical to those worn in 1966, right down to the 1-inch side-stripe on the pant legs.
After all, you can never go wrong in classic, back-to-back National Championships.
But, the Nike Pro Combat unis the Spartans will don for the game against Michigan on Oct. 15 in Spartan Stadium are, appropriately enough, "smashing," from the bronze helmets to the basic black pants to the jigsaw-puzzle gloves.
Unveiled Tuesday morning by Nike, the uniforms are stylishly understated compared to many contemporary alternative uniforms seen these days throughout sports, though beyond hip for today's techno-savvy college football player.
If an iPad were a football uniform, it would look like this.
At the same time, the uniform pays homage to their ancient Greek warrior namesakes with whom Spartans fans and athletes identify now more than ever. Bronze was the material the Spartans used for their helmets and armor in the Battle of Thermopylae.
Foremost among all considerations is the fact that when you come right down to it, we're talking about a game that involves a ball, is played by 18-to-22-year-olds and is supposed to be fun. If getting to wear a special uniform once in awhile is going to make the players happy, then who is anyone to say otherwise?
The idea came up during the 30-60-minute postseason interviews Coach Mark Dantonio has with each player in January. Defensive end William Gholston, the top member of the previous year's recruiting class, knew about the Nike's Pro Combat program and asked if MSU, a Nike-equipped team, would be able to participate?
During a subsequent Nike-sponsored trip to Hawaii, Dantonio asked company co-founder and CEO Phil Knight how MSU would go about being one of the select teams chosen to wear the Pro Combat gear this season.
After Michigan State made the cut, members of the Spartans' Unity Council, including co-captain Kirk Cousins, got to see mock-ups of the uniforms in April.
"It was great excitement," Cousins said. "Guys were cheering and blown away by the designs Nike rolled out. It just showed that Michigan State is even more in the forefront than maybe we thought.
"The people I talked to at Nike said that of all the jerseys they designed this year, they feel like ours are as good as anyone's, if not the best. So, that was exciting. It's a great opportunity and obviously now we need to play well in them."
Army, Boise State, Georgia, LSU, Navy, Ohio State, Oregon and Stanford are the other teams that will be outfitted in the state-of-the-art Pro Combat uniforms this season.
Having a say in such matters is indicative of the ownership the players are afforded within the program. During their individual meetings, the players can talk to Dantonio about any topic including: playing time, academics, family, girlfriends and uniforms.
"One of the things Will brought up was, can we get Combat jerseys?" Cousins said. "I think we were all thinking it, but Will said it. Coach Dantonio listened to Will, and listens to his players in general.
"When he was able to cross paths with some people with Nike, he was able to mention it to them and they took it from there. It's exciting to be a part of it, and it also shows the players have a voice in this program."
The uniforms are striking from head-to-toe.
The helmets will be painted in a textured bronze matte finish and outfitted with black facemasks. The trademark ancient Spartan helmet silhouette logo that appears on MSU's regular helmets in white will be in green, as will the tapered center stripe.
The jerseys will be in the same shade of dark green introduced for home uniforms last season, but will have black sleeves and black V-neck collar. The word "Spartans" will appear in black across the chest
Bronze numbers will be trimmed in black and the words "Molon Labe," the defiant battle cry King Leonidas issued to his 300 warriors and is translated to mean "come and get them," will appear inside the back of the collar. Players' last names will be replaced with "Spartans" in black in the center of the back shoulders. "Molon Labe" will also appear on the front of the helmet.
The players will wear black pants with a bronze helmet logo on the hip and green accents near the knee. The players will wear green calf socks, and the predominant color of the shoes will be bronze with green accents.
Players, such as receivers, who wear gloves, will be able to form a complete picture of the helmet logo when they stretch their arms out with their palms facing out, and put their hands together.
Nike is providing the uniforms at no additional cost. They are currently scheduled to be worn only in the Michigan game. What will become of the uniforms after the game has yet to be determined.
For those who are uncomfortable with the way Michigan State has tinkered with its uniform in recent years, it should be noted that based on research done for the book, "Michigan State Football - They Are Spartans" (Arcadia), occasional changes are more a part of school tradition than a singular look that has withstood the test of time.
In the '30s, Michigan State College teams wore black and gold and sported winged helmets even before that certain team down the road did. After MSU lost the '47 opener to Michigan while wearing white helmets with green wings, the look most closely associated with the Spartans - especially those great teams of the '50s and `60s - was adopted.
White helmets didn't catch on after a couple games in the '50s, either, nor did a monochromatic uniform consisting of green helmets, jerseys and pants. The helmet has generally been decorated with one stripe, but there have been years when it sported three and times when it had none.
There have been too many trim combinations on jerseys, pants and socks to list, but then it's hard to find a team that hasn't tweaked its uniform over the years.
My credo for all things visual is, "Whatever works." I haven't liked every uniform MSU has worn, and I've hated some, but this Pro Combat version works.
