08-05-2025
Former All-American offensive lineman believes Nebraska should make changes to helmet
Former All-American offensive lineman believes Nebraska should make changes to helmet
A former Pro Bowl offensive lineman doesn't appear to be a fan of Nebraska's helmet design. Former Michigan Wolverine Taylor Lewan posted a short clip of a recent visit to the Husker football facility on social media.
Lewan is a three-time Pro Bowler who played all eight seasons of his career for the Tennessee Titans. Since retiring, he has hosted the podcast 'Bussin' With The Boys' with former Titans teammate and Nebraska linebacker Will Compton.
Lewan's post regarding the helmet came with the following warning. "Nebraska fans are gonna be mad about the way I talk about the N, but unfortunately, I'm not wrong. Love Nebraska, love the fans but the N is just too small for the helmet."
At the start of the 1970 college football season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers debuted their new helmet: a classic white helmet with a red stripe down the middle and an N centered on both sides. For the last 50-plus years, the helmet has remained the same in one form or another. Lewan believes the time has come for some kind of change.
"They've got to do something about that N. Black, white, red, all the colors are great. I love the color scheme of Nebraska. Real fans are going to hate this but there is just something about that Time New Roman bold. It doesn't have the presentation I want it to have."
I can understand where an outsider might see the current design as boring and needing an upgrade, but as a traditionalist, I like the helmet just the way it is.
Nebraska has worn the rare one-off alternative design. The 2012 Wisconsin game featured the same helmet design but a black helmet instead of a white one, and the 2013 UCLA game featured the traditional white helmet design but a black stripe down the center instead of a red stripe.
Other one-off designs featured a 2014 game against Illinois in which the Huskers wore a two-tone red and black helmet with a black N. The most unique design came in 2018 when Nebraska wore a helmet that honored the leather helmets from the early days of college football.
While the traditional helmet design may be simple, it's also iconic. The helmet is immediately identifiable to most college football fans. Any significant changes would ignore decades of history, while any minor changes would be seen as change solely for the sake of change.
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