Ohio State announced it will kick off the 2017 season with practice exactly one week from today. And with that, the annual media guide was made available by sports information director Jerry Emig.
Past covers have included photos of team captains, Ohio Stadium and so on. But this year's design might give us a peek at some changes to the Buckeyes' uniforms for the upcoming season.
The cover of this season's Ohio State football media guide. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/lrdUUW88Lo
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 20, 2017
Eleven Warriors can confirm Ohio State is updating to Nike's Vapor Untouchable template, which was worn against Nebraska and Clemson. The template — which will also be worn by schools such as Clemson, Georgia, Texas and USC, not to name a few — features minimal seams and fewer panels, creating a shrink-wrap feel and fewer grab points on the jersey than traditional builds.
It was first worn by Oregon in the 2016 Alamo Bowl, and will be widely distributed to college football's premier programs this season.
The cover, which is just a photoshopped photo of linebacker Jerome Baker taken ahead of the Fiesta Bowl, also shows an added design element to the jersey numbers. Ohio State graphic designer Kyle McKey said the Buckeyes Leafs, as far as he knows, are not actually going to be on the uniforms.
However, the Buckeyes have worn practice uniforms this spring and last fall with the design in the numbers on the new template.
Ohio State's jerseys for spring ball featured Buckeye Leafs on the numbers. Keep an eye on this. pic.twitter.com/5U2M1VPcLD
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 20, 2017
Unless Ohio State announces the changes, it's unlikely we'll find out for certain whether they're actually happening until the Buckeyes hit the field on Aug. 31 against Indiana.
