Even players didn't know about black helmets

By Jim Nasella

For the AJC

Black in Jax probably isn't such a good idea.

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Brant Sanderlin, bsanderlin@ajc.com Georgia quarterback Joe Cox said the gear "provided a spark. Maybe every now and then you need some change to bring excitement and we needed excitement."

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In a motivational ploy that didn’t quite work Saturday, the Georgia Bulldogs pulled a game-day surprise by wearing black helmets along with black pants in their 41-17 loss to Florida.

There was no indication the black helmets were coming out of the box. The Bulldogs did pregame warm-ups in their red helmets and coaches even kept the secret from the team until about 15 minutes before game time.

“No, we didn’t know,’’ quarterback Joe Cox said. “It provided a spark. Maybe every now and then you need some change to bring excitement and we needed excitement.’’

“We had those helmets from about a year ago,’’ coach Mark Richt said. “We felt it was a good time to pull them out. We didn’t let the players know because we wanted to spring it on them and spring it on the fans. We were looking to give them more juice. I have no regrets doing it.’’

The black hats, with a red face mask, white stripe down the middle and the famous ‘G’ logo on the side, saw their first action since the school began playing in 1892.

“It’s the first time in recorded history we’ve worn them in a game,’’ associate athletics director Claude Felton said.

The pants, however, are another story and might never see the light of day and early evening in Jacksonville again.

According to Felton, the pants made their debut in a 33-6 win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day 1998, then emerged from mothballs on Oct. 31 of that year for a 38-7 loss to the Gators here.

Although the helmets were in a history-making debut, the combination of black and black, with white jerseys (black numerals trimmed in red), appeared at odds with most of the 40,000 or so Georgia fans adorned mostly in traditional red.

They lost more appeal against the stadium’s teal seats -- which became more visible on the Georgia side once the second half started and fans began a trickling departure.

"It kind of hyped us up at the beginning,’’ safety Reshad Jones said. “But, it’s not the black helmets; it’s what’s behind the black helmets. It’s the players.’’