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AUSTIN — Texas fans exploring the scenes coming out of preseason practice this week may have noticed a new feature added to a few Longhorn helmets.

Several of the players have a simple red stripe stretching across the top of their helmets from front to back. A few others have a black stripe. But what exactly do these lines mean and why are they on some but not others?



Tom Herman briefly explained the new additions after Friday’s practice, the first session in full pads. Red is for newcomers, black is to better see the line of vision for quarterbacks and running backs.



“The red stripes are for the newcomers, a pledging if you will,” Herman said. “They’re not quite members of the family yet. They have to prove it on the practice field. At some point they’ll get those stripes off.



“The black stripe [is] for our quarterbacks and running backs. We want to be able to see on video where is the center of their helmets, where exactly are they looking. That’s the closest thing [we can do]. Granted I can look at you and my head may be [one] way, but in a helmet that’s pretty hard to do.”



That means quarterback Shane Buechele and all the other signal callers, except Sam Ehlinger who has a red strip, are sporting the black line on their helmets this preseason. As are all the running backs.



The newcomers have a chance to get their stripes off, however. Once they prove themselves to the staff they can join the rest of their teammates with the all-white hats (the Longhorn logo is still left off). Herman said that could happen after Saturday’s scrimmage or it could still be a few weeks for some players.



“I think its just when you get here you haven’t been through everything the veterans have been through and so to just say hey and just be handed the keys without earning anything would be doing a disservice to the veterans,” Herman said. “They don’t get treated any different, but we make a big deal when they earn the stripe off and become a full fledge member of our family.”

