For as long as I can remember, I have been calling for Ohio State to wear a gray alternate uniform on the football field and frankly, it’s insane that it took as long as it did especially when the men’s basketball team has had gray in the rotation for decades.
They gave us a little tease back in 2017, but completely grayscale from head to toe with a wolf fur pattern on the helmet and the lettering wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. It was aesthetically very cool, in my opinion, but it didn’t look like an Ohio State uniform.
Ohio State tried its best to Buckeye it up with the scarlet helmet stickers and the bright scarlet cleats to pop against the gray, but nothing about it looked like a uniform you would ever expect Ohio State to wear.
I didn’t want the Land of Wolves uniforms, I simply wanted a gray version of Ohio State’s already iconic uniforms. I wanted a uniform that looks decidedly like the Buckeyes, even to the most casual college football fan. I wanted a uniform that meshes seamlessly with tradition – something that looks like a long-lost missing piece of Buckeye lore that should have always been there, even if it’s brand new.
Turns out, I wanted exactly this:
It’s perfect aesthetically, and even more perfect traditionally. It looks distinctly like an Ohio State Buckeyes uniform, even if it’s like nothing the team has ever worn before.
It merges perfectly with Ohio State’s storied tradition in a way that makes you wish former players had a chance to wear this uniform.
This doesn’t look like a new uniform, an alternate uniform, or even a throwback uniform it looks like something that has always belonged in Ohio State’s uniform rotation.
Some previous alternate uniforms are a jarring juxtaposition when they show up on a highlight reel. Like them or not, the cannonball helmets are a clear departure from anything Ohio State wore in any of its other games. Neither version of the Land of the Wolves uniform looked much like an Ohio State football uniform.
But this one fits, and it fits perfectly.
This uniform feels like an immediate addition to tradition, much like when Jim Tressel started the tradition of singing Carmen Ohio after games. You’d be forgiven for not even knowing that tradition was only about 20 years young because it sure doesn’t feel like it. I would not be surprised to see the same thing happen with this uniform.
If Ohio State chooses to integrate these gray uniforms into their regular rotation, it will not take long for fans to forget that they aren’t traditional, historic uniforms. Because they don’t look overly modern and they don’t feel that out of place.
There’s a reason why you’ve been able to buy bootleg gray Ohio State jerseys for decades. Hell, the iconic Brady Quinn/A.J. Hawk split jersey is made from a fake gray Ohio State jersey.
This isn’t just a simple one-off alternate uniform, it’s a welcomed addition to Ohio State football tradition that I sincerely hope becomes a mainstay in the Buckeye uniform rotation.
The Buckeyes will look unmistakably like Ohio State on Saturday night, even if they aren’t in their primary uniform. And that’s the way it should be.
Ohio State 45, Michigan State 6