

Today, we ran a story on Rutgers' uniforms and Mike Kuzniak, the man who played a part in designing them and their upkeep. Instead of sitting on some extra notes and details, they will find a home here instead.

-- It seems everyone has a different opinion on their favorite uniform. Leonte Carroo and Brandon Coleman like the all-black uniforms. Gary Nova likes the all-white ones and so does Kuzniak.

"It's just a real clean look," he said.

And Kyle Flood likes them all.

"My favorite program is the one we're wearing this Saturday," he said. "And if you ask me the question in a couple weeks I'll say the same thing. Whichever one we're wearing, that's my favorite."

-- Rutgers is the first to use a chrome helmet on a weekly basis. Oregon had used one in a bowl game. Hydro Graphics Inc. (HGI), the company that made the helmet, had never made one for a full season before and there was some mystery how it would last for 13 games.

-- On the topic of gloves that come together to form a school's logo, like this one, Kuzniak says "We don't have that for Rutgers yet. We're working on that." It's a Nike decision.

-- The decision on which uniform and helmet to wear involves several people. Obviously, Flood has a say in the matter. He also talks to Kuzniak and Director of Football Ops, Will Gilkison. The decision can come a few weeks before the game or, for blackout games, it can be made a year in advance to allow the program to plan for it and market it.

-- Flood on the changes he made to the uniform and what he wanted it to reflect: "Being a Rutgers football player is a very special opportunity and it's a very special part in the lives of our players and our coaches and I wanted the uniforms to reflect that. And I wanted the players to know how special it is to put that uniform on on Saturdays, whatever version it is – whether it's the scarlet, the white or the black. Putting FAMILY on the inside of it, I think that was just one more way to let them know that 'Hey, when I put that jersey on, it's really about more than just me, it's about our whole program."

-- Why does Kuzniak love his job? Because nothing beats standing on the sideline for a game as it gets tense. "There's not too many jobs that can make your heart from going normal to racing in a couple of minutes," he says.

-- Kuzniak on how many designs weren't used: "There were so many different jerseys and helmets and colors, I couldn't even tell you. It was a lot."

-- Rutgers has four different helmets and at least 200 of each.

-- The American flag helmet has a special place in Kuzniak's heart. As a former Marine, getting a chance to design that helmet, along with Gilkison, for a game against Army at Yankee Stadium on Veteran's Day weekend was special.

And so was the chrome helmet with the stars and stripes plume across the top.

"I'm a Marine so anytime we can do something like that, I love it," he said. "Once we got the chrome helmet, doing the Star-Spangled Banner stripe across the top was cool. I told my sticker guy what I was looking for and he came back with that. It was awesome. To me it's the nicest American flag helmet out there."

-- Flood had nothing but praise for Kuzniak.

"He cares about this program and he cares about our players on a personal level. And those are the kinds of people that you want in those roles. Because as the equipment manager he's going to touch the lives of our players every day.

Flood also added: "He is everything you would think a Marine to be. He is very meticulous. He is very orderly – uniform, so to speak. He does a great job making sure the players have everything."

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE UNIFORM AND HELMET?