2015 Shamrock Series Uniforms Unveiled

The new threads are out! Let's break them down stitch by stitch.

From South Bend to Boston, @NDFootball always shows up strong. #ProtectThisHouse #ShamrockSeries pic.twitter.com/Gh89wiMGwX

— Under Armour FTBL (@UAFootball) August 13, 2015

Jersey

By itself, this top is fairly attractive. The lighter shade of green looks nice and certainly doesn’t look dopey as a uniform color. My first big problem comes with the stripes on the shoulder. I think Under Armour should have gone with just blue or gold, not both. The two-tone effect with these stripes does not seem to match well with the color green they chose for the rest of the jersey. Outside of that, the green strips that seem to cut across the broader blue and gold stripes seem a little out of place across the chest. Don’t get me wrong, I think they look really cool on the pants leg, but not so much across the shoulders.

The cursive "Irish" above the numbers is a nice touch that UA has already used for the basketball team’s gold jerseys.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

I like the simple block numbers, but I don’t really get what the designers were going for with the gold diagonal line in the lower left corner of the navy numerals. They’re not a deal-breaker, but like the green strips across the shoulder stripes, they seem like a design afterthought and not part of a unified design. It’s difficult to tell from the publicity pictures what’s going to be on the shoulder: if it will be a leprechaun or the ND monogram.

Pants

The uni pants are the same color as the jersey. They have the same broad blue and gold flank stripes down the sides as the jersey has across the shoulders. Here, those little green strips look sharp and accentuate the look. Like last year’s uniform, the flank stripes run down the sides and across the lower thigh above the knee. Along with an Under Armour logo on the right hip, the pants sport a leprechaun on the left hip. This is where the uniform loses a bit in my opinion. The top would have looked awesome with a pair of gold pants. The single color uniform, in my opinion, really only works with white, silver, or black.

Base Layer

Same color as the jerseys, same overall style.  I like that they seemed to put the ND monogram in the outline of Fenway park.  Tough to tell what's on the arms, but hopefully it's something that accentuates the whole package.

Socks and Cleats

The socks and cleats are the same color as the uniform with some gold accents thrown in. The socks lack a stripe and are solid green with the exception of a gold Under Armour logo. A little plain, but with everything else going on not a big deal. Also, considering the two-tone effect of the cleats, it’s probably a good thing the socks are understated.

Helmet

My office renovation is complete. Ryan & UA did a fantastic job on design. Now back to getting better every day. pic.twitter.com/egaBKAUz98

— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) August 13, 2015

The helmet’s base coat looks to be the same gold as the standard uniforms. On the sides is a leprechaun head in what looks like green gold and black. Down the middle is a green and blue double stripe. While certainly not the worst (the 2012 asymmetric disaster will always have that distinction), I’m not thrilled about the design. First, the stripe is different from the ones on the uniform. I know they couldn’t replicate it on the helmet because of the gold base coat, but the designers might have been better served with a simple blue stripe or none at all. Second the leprechaun seems to get a little lost in all of this, but that could just be the shine on the publicity photos.

Verdict

I’m on the fence with this kit. It’s certainly not the edgiest uniform produced and it’s not exactly an appeal to tradition. It isn’t horrible and it’s not astounding. The one thing that does really bother me is that it’s not immediately clear that this is a Notre Dame Uniform. The leprechaun on the hip is the same color as the rest of the fabric, causing it to get lost, and leaving only the Under Armour logo to catch the eye. The leprechaun on the helmet seems a little too understated. I think a lot of this will hinge on what ends up being on the shoulders. All in all, Under Armour is still out-performing Adidas and that’s something to be happy about. Regardless of what we see now, I think it’s important to reserve judgment until game day. I loved last year’s unis at the unveiling, but when I actually saw them on the field, I thought they looked a little bland, like the shine had worn off under the lights. The players like them and that’s a good thing. Most importantly let’s hope ND wins in them.