Utah Football Adds Another Award To The Trophy Case
Feb 14, 2022, 2:24 PM
Utah Utes quarterback Cam Rising (7) hands the ball off to Utah Utes running back Tavion Thomas (9) as Utah and Oregon play an NCAA football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021.
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SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah football coaches can add ‘swag’ to their recruiting pitch after being named the UNISWAG Helmet of the Year.
UNISWAG announced their award winners via Twitter on Monday, February 14.
UNISWAG HELMET OF THE YEAR WINNER
The fans voted @Utah_Football the UNISWAG Helmet of the Year!#uniswag pic.twitter.com/OL7cXbicPK
— UNISWAG (@UNISWAG) February 14, 2022
The Utes experimented with a variety of different uniform designs and combinations during the 2021 season, but it was the USS Salt Lake City model that featured incredibly detailed, hand-painted helmets that was voted the swaggiest in all the land.
Air brushed with the scene of the USS Salt Lake City firing its cannons, the helmets were created by Armando Villarreal.
USS Salt Lake City helmets behind the scenes. Thank you so much to my wife @lorakatherine for all the help. @Greg144E for the video. @UtesEquipment @Schutt_RepCMac @schuttsports @Utah_Football @Tucker_Petre @SportCoatNA pic.twitter.com/ywY8MgDFAa
— Armando Villarreal (@AVStudios) November 16, 2021
Villareal painted each helmet by hand at his studio in Imperial, NE. The project took nearly a year to complete.
Players appreciated the effort.
Now former Ute linebacker Devin Lloyd said of the look, “Gorgeous,” Lloyd said after practice, “I got to do the reveal and when I first saw them, I was just in shock. The helmets are beautiful, shout out to whoever hand-painted them, they did an amazing job. Just everything that goes along with the designs, having a star and there’s 11 stars on there, just all the intricate details, honors the USS Salt Lake. I think it’s amazing.”
