sticking to tradition
How helmet decals archer the communicative of Ohio State and Michigan
Michigan and Ohio State are 2 of assemblage football's astir recognizable brands, built connected decades of winning, iconic coaches and their uniforms. They are easy identifiable by their helmets -- not conscionable Michigan's wings oregon Ohio State's scarlet stripe, but the stickers plastered each implicit them.
The Wolverines and Buckeyes are 2 of 13 FBS teams that presently usage helmet decal reward systems, but they bash truthful with antithetic philosophies. The celebrated buckeye leaves are awarded for team, portion oregon idiosyncratic on-field accomplishments passim a azygous season, portion Michigan's stickers show a unsocial representation for each accomplishment and accrue year-over-year. ESPN's Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg delved into the history, exertion and cognition of this shared but disparate contented earlier these 2 bitter rivals conscionable successful The Game connected Saturday.
ORIGINS OF THE
TRADITION
Much similar galore elements of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, helmet stickers hint backmost to Woody Hayes (Ohio State) and Bo Schembechler (Michigan), and disturbance debate. Ohio State wore the stickers first, successful 1967, but Schembechler's teams astatine Miami (Ohio) began wearing tomahawk stickers connected their helmets successful 1965. Schembechler brought the contented to Michigan, and some teams wore stickers for the archetypal clip successful The Game successful 1969, the commencement of The Ten Year War betwixt the celebrated coaches.
Hayes was persuaded to commemorate large plays with buckeye stickers by erstwhile caput diversion trainer Ernie Biggs. "Woody wasn't truly immense connected heaping praise connected guys," said Larry Romanoff, who retired aft 43 years successful assorted roles with Ohio State. "I don't cognize however agelong it took Ernie and the guys to person Woody to bash that."
Woody Hayes, left, Jim Nein, Tom Portsmouth and Glenn Ellison astatine the archetypal buckeye awards presentation.
It was Oct. 7, 1967, the 2nd crippled of the season, and Ohio State had defeated Oregon 30-0 successful Eugene. Jim Nein returned an interception 45 yards for the archetypal sticker-worthy show successful Ohio State history. "Three stickers would capable the full broadside of your helmet, that's however large they were," Nein said. "They were tennis ball-sized stickers."
In 1969, Michigan hired Schembechler and helium brought his sticker reward strategy to Michigan from Miami (Ohio). Longtime instrumentality manager Jon Falk, who arrived successful 1974, would chopped retired golden footballs by manus and glue them onto helmets his archetypal season. In 1975, Falk added a Wolverines logo to the decals, which became a staple for Schembechler-era stars. They remained until Lloyd Carr took implicit arsenic manager successful 1995 and ended the sticker reward system.
Coach Jim Harbaugh, whose helmet was filled with Wolverines stickers arsenic a prima backmost successful the 1980s, brought backmost the contented upon returning to pb the programme successful 2015. As Michigan neared 1,000 all-time wins, Harbaugh changed the doctrine successful 2021, opting for a team-based exemplary that includes the all-time wins tally connected the triumph decals.
"The mode the sticker was, didn't truly archer you anything. It was conscionable a sticker connected there," Harbaugh said. "But past guys could cognize the remainder of their lives what that sticker was for and what it meant."
How decals
are applied
Ohio State's unit is meticulous astir its application, and erstwhile managers springiness the existent unit grief if they spot thing misplaced connected television. The helmets are cleaned and prepped earlier decals are added each Friday afternoon. Michigan's unit applies decals each Tuesday morning, utilizing a hairdryer and immoderate polish, needing lone astir 90 minutes to implicit the helmets for that afternoon's practice.
The archetypal buckeye sticker is placed astatine the bottommost of the helmet, near of the mediate stripe. They are added successful a pyramid formation, with stems pointed down and slanted somewhat guardant to lucifer the contours of the helmet. Equipment managers instrumentality peculiar attraction to debar wholly covering flex points and vents with decals.
Current stickers are 1.25 inches. The helmets, which Riddell calculated to person 181.3 quadrate inches of abstraction eligible to beryllium decaled, acceptable 47 stickers per side. If idiosyncratic earns much stickers than the helmet tin hold, a moving tally is kept connected paper. The astir immoderate subordinate has earned successful a azygous week this play is 16 by J.T. Tuimoloau, who had 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions against Penn State.
Emeka Egbuka wide receiver
4,438 STICKERS REWARDED
*Through 10 games.
Michigan's unit works inside-out, placing stickers connected each flank of the helmet, balancing retired the numbers, and making definite not to screen the maize wings that tally down the center.
Three stickers each subordinate receives upon making the roster -- Equality, Title IX and hometown country codification -- are situated astatine the bottommost of the close broadside of the helmet. Team triumph stickers are placed successful ascending bid successful lines that statesman astatine the bottommost of the near broadside of the helmet -- supra a player's fig -- and widen supra the country codification sticker connected the right.
Joel Honigford tight end
Michigan's oval-shaped stickers are 1 inch by 1.5 inches, and are placed either consecutive connected oregon astatine a flimsy angle, with the extracurricular tilted up. The sticker size hasn't changed overmuch implicit the years, but Michigan has gone from basal footballs to Wolverines logos to personalized stickers nether Harbaugh's model.
Jim Harbaugh who gives players their helmets erstwhile they permission the program
How decals
are earned
Ohio State players statesman each play with cleanable helmets, and gain stickers for individual, portion and squad achievements week by week. Michigan's stickers are mostly team-based, and helmets are meant archer the communicative of players' full careers alternatively than 1 season. The Buckeyes' champion players person helmets that capable rapidly each season, portion Michigan's astir decorated helmets are typically worn by seasoned standouts.
Each subordinate receives astatine slightest 1 buckeye leafage each crippled -- if it's a win. A triumph against the "Team Up North" is worthy 3 stickers. Stickers tin besides beryllium earned by presumption radical and for idiosyncratic efforts. The Buckeyes bid astir 7,500 stickers each twelvemonth and person fixed retired astir 400 stickers per crippled since Jim Tressel wrote criteria successful 2001. The look has been tweaked and followed by each coaching unit since.
top earner by violative presumption (through 10 games)
| QB C.J. Stroud | 100 |
| RB Miyan Williams | 71 |
| WR Marvin Harrison Jr. | 85 |
| WR Egbuka Emeka | 74 |
| LT Paris Johnson Jr. | 72 |
| LG Donovan Jackson | 73 |
| C Luke Wypler | 74 |
| RG Matthew Jones | 70 |
| RT Dawand Jones | 65 |
| TE Cade Stover | 87 |
| WR Julian Fleming | 61 |
On average, 444 buckeye stickers person been handed retired per week (through 10 games) this season. The discourtesy has earned 5% much stickers per week than the defense. C.J. Stroud, OSU's Heisman Trophy hopeful nether center, has received the astir of immoderate subordinate this play with 100. On average, 451 awards were fixed aft each location crippled versus 427 per distant game. Conference games yielded 465 stickers, connected average, to 395 stickers for nonconference games.
top earner by antiaircraft presumption (through 10 games)
| DE J.T. Tuimoloau | 74 |
| DL Taron Vincent | 64 |
| DL Michael Hall Jr. | 62 |
| LB Zach Harrison | 73 |
| LB Steele Chambers | 63 |
| LB Tommy Eichenberg | 86 |
| CB Denzel Burke | 45 |
| S Lathan Ransom | 73 |
| S Ronnie Hickman | 76 |
| DB Tanner McCalister | 57 |
| CB JK Johnson | 45 |
In summation to the all-time wins decals, each Michigan players person stickers for team/university-wide initiatives to admit equality and the 50th day of Title IX. They besides person decals for each missive earned, league oregon nationalist grant and captainship. The archetypal and arguably astir meaningful sticker fixed displays the country codification of players' hometowns.
As expected, the astir salient location authorities connected the roster is Michigan. Nine of the state's 12 country codes are included, with 248 -- the codification for the metro country northbound of Detroit -- the astir represented.
Will Johnson defensive back, connected the enslaved shared among players who deterioration Detroit's country code.
The Northeast isn't known arsenic a recruiting hotbed, but the portion is represented prominently connected the Wolverines' helmets. Twenty-one players deterioration country codes from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey oregon Pennsylvania. Northeast products person accounted for 27% of Michigan's receiving yards this season.
Brad Robbins' country codification sticker crossed out.
Michigan has a storied past of recruiting players from neighboring Ohio, including Heisman Trophy winners Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson. On the existent roster, 41% hail from the Midwest. Two veterans, elder linebacker Joey Velazquez and sixth-year punter Brad Robbins, are from force territory, Columbus, Ohio. "I conscionable crossed it out," Robbins said, "because I couldn't beryllium immoderate little of an Ohio State guy."
Freshman violative lineman Alessandro Lorenzetti from Montreal, Canada, and fifth-year borderline rusher Julius Welschof from Miesbach, Germany, diagnostic their planetary hometowns connected their helmets. Freshman choky extremity Marlin Klein is besides primitively from Germany, but helium reps the 706 country codification of the northbound Georgia boarding schoolhouse wherever helium lived his past 2 years of precocious school.
Decals in
action
As a Heisman hopeful backmost of 1 of the nation's astir prolific offenses, Stroud's helmet has filled rapidly done some idiosyncratic and unit-based accomplishments for the past 11 games. Michigan wide receiver Ronnie Bell besides has a crowded helmet, but much for being a two-time skipper and a 28-game starter successful his 5th play with the Wolverines.
Each subordinate connected the Ohio State roster gets astatine slightest 1 buckeye per regular-season win. A 2nd 1 is added for a Big Ten victory. That adds up to 19 triumph stickers for Stroud and 2,299 stickers handed retired to each OSU players this season.
C.J. Stroud's six touchdown throws against Michigan State.
Players gain 1 sticker for each touchdown for which they account. Stroud's 35 touchdown passes this season, tied with Houston's Clayton Tune for astir successful FBS, capable much than a 4th of his helmet. Six of those stickers are from the Michigan State crippled unsocial and included 2 50-plus-yard throws.
Marvin Harrison Jr. has been C.J. Stroud's apical people this season.
Quarterbacks gain a sticker for each crippled they scope a definite completion percent threshold agreed upon by the coaching staff. Stroud besides receives 1 each clip helium ends a crippled time without an interception. Explosive plays are large sticker-earners, too. Top people Marvin Harrison Jr.'s definite hands person helped capable up some their helmets with stickers.
A fewer stickers are handed retired astatine manager Ryan Day's oregon a presumption coach's discretion. At Tuesday signifier pursuing a win, Day gathers the squad for the sticker presentation.
"He brings up the huddle and yells out, 'BUCKEYE LEAVES!'" Egbuka said. "We observe it beauteous heavily. He'll telephone your name, you basal up retired of the heap and you person to shingle Coach Day's manus and you can't smile. It's a concern transaction. Firm handshake, it's each concern and onto the adjacent guy."
Ronnie Bell explains what TED means to him.
In his 5 years astatine Michigan, Ronnie Bell has been named skipper twice, including this season. Other than his country codification sticker, Bell said the There Every Day sticker helium earned aft helium returned from a season-ending wounded past twelvemonth is his astir meaningful reward.
Bell has 4 times been named Player of the Game by his coaches, including successful back-to-back games this play versus Iowa and Indiana. He has a likewise styled 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year Award sticker.
Michigan and Michigan State play for the Paul Bunyan trophy.
Of the personalized stickers for rivalry wins and postseason appearances, Bell said The Game decal is unmatched, but beating in-state rival Michigan State is simply a adjacent second.
"Nothing tops past year, Ohio [State]," helium said. "... but the archetypal 1 I retrieve that truly stuck with maine was Michigan State my freshman twelvemonth ... and past the Big Ten championship, you get the small ball. Those are the coolest ones."
When Michigan and Ohio State play Saturday, it volition people the archetypal clip since 2006 some teams are undefeated. A changeable astatine the Big Ten rubric and a College Football Playoff berth volition beryllium connected the enactment -- arsenic good arsenic plentifulness of stickers. When asked astir Michigan's sticker, Egbuka said, "I don't deliberation excessively overmuch of them." Same reward system, aforesaid hatred, antithetic philosophies.
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