When Jim Harbaugh joined the Michigan Wolverines in 2015, one of the first changes he made was to implement the helmet stickers some teams have used across college football.
When Harbaugh initially unveiled the stickers, he explained what the criteria would be to add the decals to players’ helmets:
“There’s different criteria, there’s team criteria for winning, everybody gets one, win a Big Ten game, everybody gets two,” he said when they were initially unveiled. “Then there’s team turnover margin, unit stickers for defense, for offense and there’s individual awards that can be won.”
Since Harbaugh instated the stickers, their representation has changed. The stickers, which initially spanned just one season, now roll over for a player’s entire career. And while the Buckeyes’ stickers are uniform to indicate performance and wins, Michigan’s helmet stickers have different significance and meaning.
It’s a similar-but-different approach to something many teams across college football do, including Ohio State and Georgia. The Wolverines use the stickers to showcase wins, letters and milestones. Here’s a look at some of the stickers, their purpose, and what they mean.
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Michigan helmet sticker types
The Wolverines’ decals are not a catch-all. There are different stickers for different achievements, and they all have a different significance. They’re small, football-shaped stickers with writing on them to denote the achievement.
Here’s a look at some of the more notable ones:
A sticker featuring a wolverine facing left with a number on it denotes a win. It is by far the most common type of sticker on the helmets. The number represents the win in program history, which surpassed 1,000 this season.Returners from the 2022 Michigan offensive line earned a Joe Moore Award sticker to showcase their efforts.A sticker reading “EUTM” means “An Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind.” Named after Jim Harbaugh’s book, it goes to deserving players. Harbaugh specifically called out Kris Jenkins when he unveiled the sticker over the summer, but it went to other leaders on the team as well, including Blake Corum.The hilariously named RAMPAGE sticker goes to players who were a part of Michigan’s eight-game win streaks. In the “Halo” video game, the medal is awarded for defeating 20 opponents without dying. That probably isn’t Harbaugh’s inspiration.Stickers that read TED signify players who were “there every day.” It goes to players who were in every spring and fall practice.Players get three stickers for being on the roster: “Equality,” “Title IX,” and their hometown area codes are givens.
These are just some of the more notable stickers, but there are plenty of others. The complete list can be found in this M Victors blog postwhich also has plenty of other Michigan history included.
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Why did Michigan bring back helmet stickers?
Harbaugh himself had his Michigan helmet littered with decals. When he brought them back in 2015, he said “feel” was part of it. Then-tight end Jake Butt said the competition helped.
“I think it’s awesome,” Butt said in 2015. “It’s another way to create an environment of competition. They’re pretty sweet, we got them put on our helmet the other day and hopefully I want my helmet to be decked out by the end of the season.”
Why did Jim Harbaugh change the stickers?
For Harbaugh, changing the stickers was an attempt to chronicle every player’s individual story, rather than myriad faceless achievements.
“That will be a gift for them when they leave — to show what they were a part of,” he said on the “In the Trenches” podcast in 2021. “It just brings back those memories.”
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Hail Yes!” your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Michigan associate athletic director Dave Ablauf also talked about gifting the helmets.
“It’s a great way to reward the guys,” Ablauf said, per Saturday Tradition. “We’ve always given our players their helmet at the end of the their career, and this provides them with a keepsake that tells the complete story of their career rather than just that final season.”
If Michigan manages to win the championship Monday, a sticker undoubtedly will commemorate it. Regardless, it’s going to be a special run for the players on the Michigan roster in 2023.
2024-01-09 17:47:00
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