Washington football unveils new black helmets to be used during 2024 season
A season removed from reaching the national title game, Washington will look very different in 2024. The Huskies are returning only three starters, the fewest in the Big Ten, and they are 124th in the FBS in the final returning production rankings ESPN’s Bill Connelly put out earlier this month.
That’s already a lot of newness, so why not add some more — the Huskies dropped a new helmet Thursday, complete with a black dome, a purple “W” — or “dub” — and a chrome gold face mask.
The helmet has its typical striping, except instead of purple outlining a thick white stripe down the middle of the dome, purple outlines a thick, chrome gold stripe for this model.
The helmet reads “DAWGS” right above the face mask, and “WASHINGTON” is spread across the lid’s back plate.
Washington will wear these black helmets during the 2024 season, the Huskies’ first year in the Big Ten. They are one of four programs that joined the now-18-school conference this year, along with Oregon, USC and UCLA.
The Huskies are coming off a memorable 14-win season, during which they beat Oregon in not one but two thrillers, including the last-ever Pac-12 title game. Washington, quarterbacked by Heisman Trophy finalist and eventual top-10 pick Michael Penix Jr., went on to beat Texas in the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal.
Penix and the Huskies had a rough go of it in the national championship against Michigan, though. Then head coach Kalen DeBoer left for the Alabama head coaching job, following Nick Saban’s surprise retirement, and an already-veteran Washington team got gutted even more because of the transfer portal.
Now the Huskies are led by former Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, who will try to team up with Mississippi State transfer quarterback Will Rogers and make sure Washington is competitive during its first season in the Big Ten.
Rogers will have some help, namely from Jeremiah Hunter — Cal’s top receiver the last two years — and Drew Azzopardi, a blossoming tackle who transferred in from San Diego State.
It’s hard to pinpoint where Washington will finish the 2024 season.
One thing’s for sure: The Huskies will be in style with the new black helmets they unveiled Thursday. Time will tell when they’ll be wearing those, and with what jerseys, but Washington opens the season Aug. 31 against Weber State. Its first Big Ten game is Sept. 21 versus Northwestern.