SALT LAKE CITY — Cody Heidbreder and members of the team that takes care of the University of Utah’s football equipment are used to being behind-the-scene types. They literally do the dirty work for the Utes — and usually when nobody’s watching.
“This may surprise you, but as an equipment manager I don’t get interview requests very often,” Heidbreder said, laughing. “If somebody’s recognizing the equipment staff, that means something’s going wrong, so we like to keep a low profile.”
That profile isn’t so low this week, hence the interview request.
But don’t worry, Ute fans. It’s not because something went wrong. Nobody’s chin strap snapped. Nobody’s pads were blown apart. Nobody was assigned the wrong jersey number. Nope. The Utes’ equipment staff is getting credit this week for something going exceptionally right.
That something — Utah’s snazzy, well-received and retro-looking Week 10 football uniform — will be seen by a wide audience Saturday night when the eighth-ranked Utes host UCLA in a Pac-12 game with an awful lot on the line.
“The biggest thing,” Heidbreder pointed out, “is just getting a win.”
Beating the Bruins would put Utah just two wins — over Arizona (road) and Colorado (home) — away from a return trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game and keep them in contention for the Rose Bowl and the College Football Playoffs. Depending on what happens with the six teams currently ranked ahead of them in the CFP rankings, that could set the Utes up for one of the four coveted playoff spots — or at least a chance to earn a New Year’s Day trip to Pasadena.
A loss would, well, let’s get back to the uniforms that will win Utah some style points before the opening kickoff.
As part of Under Armour’s uniform throwback series during college football’s 150th season, the Utes will wear gray pants, red jerseys with white lettering and numbers and an arched “UTES” wordmark on each shoulder, and silver helmets with interlocking U’s. The stylish helmets were each uniquely hand-painted by Armano Villarreal of Schutt Sports to look like they have grass stains and have been scuffed and marked up from playing nine games.
The idea, presented by Utah to Under Armour, was to make the 2019 Utes look like they’re the 1966 and ‘67 Utes at this time of the year. Bonus: This year’s team has already won more games — eight — than the 5-5 ‘66 Utes and the 4-7 ‘67 Utes.
“Back then, they didn’t have equipment managers shining up the helmets every single week and cleaning them up. They were beat up. They had the grass stains on them, they had the war marks, rusted-out rivets,” Heidbreder said. “We wanted to make sure that was represented. We didn’t want it to look like a clean helmet because at this point of time back then they weren’t clean helmets. We wanted to make sure that came through.”
Utah players will also wear red and gray gloves — not worn in the 1960s, by the way — that spell out “UTES” when the palms are interlocked together.
Judging the overwhelmingly positive reaction after Tuesday’s online unveiling, this retro look is the Utes’ most popular uniform in a season that has already featured some sharp-looking digs, including the red and white Homecoming Game unis and the black “dark mode” game gear.
“The players loved it,” Heidbreder said. “Pretty much every player on the roster has come by and asked to see it and asked questions about it. They’re very fired up about it and excited to put it on.”
Heidbreder said the process from conception to completion took about two years, so his staff is also pumped up for them to be put to use. (Good luck getting him to divulge what uniforms for the 2020 and ‘21 seasons are in the design process). Players had been suggesting the Utes try a uniform featuring gray, and ... voila.
The days of one home uniform and one away uniform are long gone, which is part of the fun for fashion-conscious fans, including those who get a kick out of choosing their teams’ outfits on video games. The Utes have had hand-painted helmets in the past, too, including Swoop’s wings and “Flash the U.” designs.
Under Armour has also done special throwbacks for some of its other football programs, including Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Maryland, Northwestern, Cincinnati, South Carolina and Boston College.
“It’s become a thing — uniforms and equipment (are) en vogue right now, which is exciting for us,” Heidbreder said. “It shines a little light on what we do, and it’s fun.”
This is the fun part of his job, which officially carries the title of director of football equipment operations. But, of course, it’s not the only part.
“Sounds fancy. It’s definitely not,” Heidbreder said of his title. “At the end of the day, I’m still doing laundry.”
Then again, as popular as these uniforms seem to be, players just might wear them home after Saturday’s game.