Wolverine Wednesday: Reviews The Rose Bowl Uniform Changes

Michigan has the most iconic helmet in college football.  Most fans believe its a crime to mess with the legendary helmet.  That rule gets a small pass when it comes to the Granddaddy of them all:

What about the uniform?  Michigan is the home team:

Does JJ have special customized Jordan 1 Rose Bowl cleats?

What will the team be wearing on Media Night?

This sweatshirt and a 1/4 zip was available at MDen and Nike.com.  To quote an insider, these have been treated like "gold" and sold out in seconds.  If you have to have one, check out eBay. 

The team left for LA on Tuesday and now will continue its prep in California.

Wolverine Wednesday: The Blue Man Group

Michigan is playing "under the lights" on Saturday night.  It's the first time we will see the new lighting and the scoreboards in a night game setting.  (On a side note, did you see that the NC State new video boards got hit with lighting last weekend?)  Even though the Big Ten Network forced this game into primetime, Michigan will still wear special jerseys on Saturday against BGSU.  The Wolverines will be going with the all-blue look (blue jersey and pants). 

Michigan is 11-1 is the all blues with its only loss to Georgia in the CFP.  The all blues clearly can't overcome Michigan's bowl curse.  Michigan is 11-2 in Big House primetime games. 

• BGSU QB Connor Bazelak and Michigan TE AJ Barner were teammates at Indiana last season

• Bazelak went 25-for-49 for 203 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT last season against Michigan's defense at IU. 

• WR Fred Moore leads all true freshman with 42 snaps so far. #2 is CB DJ Waller with 34

Michigan to sport new technology in their famous helmets

Michigan has changed it's uniform supplier from Nike to Adidas and now is changing their technology in their famous winged helmets.

Michigan's new helmets will be the new AiR XP™ from Schutt Sports, one of the most anticipated new helmets in years. The AiR XP™ is a traditional helmet shell shape that also packs TPU Cushioning. According to test results from independent research labs, the AiR XP™ absorbs up to 37% more impact than a Riddell® VSR-4 in game-like conditions. As opposed to the foam padding found in older traditional helmets.

We've been overwhelmed by the demand for this helmet," says Mark Watts, Regional Sales Manager for Schutt Sports. "I've been here 18 years and have never seen reaction to a helmet like this. The NFL® teams are eating it up, as are the major college programs. We're sending them out the door as fast we can make them."

Colleges that have lined up heavily with the AiR XP™ already include: USC, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Air Force, Stanford, SMU, Oklahoma State, Boston College, Illinois, BYU, Texas A&M, South Florida, TCU, Kentucky and Wyoming. More are on the way, as sales indicators at the Division 1 level are overwhelming.


Side Notes:

• Michael Shaw an incoming Freshmen (Slot or RB) this summer is in a residency legal battle over where he lives and goes to school. Ohio High School Athletic Association sent a letter to Shaw, ruling him ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics events. The issue at hand is whether Shaw is a residence of Trotwood. Michael is a track star and wants to continue running track this spring.