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</p> Maryland made plenty of … let's say, interesting decisions about its new uniforms, beginning with the mock fashion show it put on Monday night for assorted media and boosters to unveil roughly half of the 32 possible combinations of black, white, red and yellow at the Terrapins' disposal this fall. I'm down with the Black-Black-Red, Black-Black-Yellow and Black-Red-Black (above) looks, personally, although I kind of liked it better when Grambling did it. (See a full photo gallery here.)
Actually, Maryland has already employed most of those combinations and maybe a few more in the course of more than a dozen redesigns over the last 50 years, although never all of them at once. But wait a second, can we get a closer look at that white helmet?
(Thank you, Coach Edsall.) Your eyes do not deceive you: The print is meant to mimic the distinctive shell design of the local diamondback terrapin that gives the team its mascot, bisected by the red and black stripes that appear on the state flag in honor of the Lords Baltimore, founders of the original colony. Will all of that fit on the back of the jersey for the kids watching at home?
You may or may not appreciate the creativity, but you have to give them credit for this much: They have seriously embraced the turtle thing. If you're a traditionalist looking for someone to blame, though, it's not the usual suspect for once: It's Baltimore's own Under Armour, headed by UM alum Kevin Plank, a former special teams captain for the Terp football team and current member of the university's Board of Trustees. He's not exactly Phil Knight, yet, but something tells me his latest may succeed in generating a little buzz this fall in an increasingly crowded arena.
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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.