BC to Use Schutt’s ‘Splash Shield’ Helmet Attachment
Training camp starts in two days for Boston College football, and that means that players will be strapping on helmets for the first time since the spring.
Only now, the equipment will look a little different.
Like several other college programs across the country, BC will be using Schutt Sports’ “Splash Shield” face guard to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases. The first of its kind, the Splash Shield is designed to create a physical barrier to protect players from the outward propulsion of respiratory droplets. Schutt began developing the product in May and announced the innovation in June. Last month, the company started sending out orders.
About 50 Division I programs purchased the Splash Shield by July 1, according to The Athletic.
The product is made from clear optical material and is both disposable and replaceable. It has small holes in the top and bottom half of the face guard, where velcro is used to tie the shield to the face mask.
BC will still wear its Under Armour visors but will attach the bottom half of the Splash Shield to players’ helmets. Other programs, like Northwestern—another Under Armour school—have gone this route, too. BC Athletics informed Eagle Action that the program feels as if the Under Armour visors offer better visibility than the top half of the Splash Shield.
TCU assistant athletic director for football equipment Brian Coutras told The Athletic in early July that Splash Shield bottoms can be ordered in bulk for $10 per pack of three.
Schutt also came up with the velcro-adjustable Python Face Mask for workouts and other non-helmet practice scenarios. After sampling those, BC decided to go in a different direction and instead opted to use its Under Armour masks.
As far as the Splash Shield is concerned, initial reports were positive. Schutt tested the product with the Central Illinois Panthers, a semi-pro team outside St. Louis, in early June. Panthers head coach Kinney Myles told The Athletic that “no one had any complaints.”
This week, however, some Division I players have voiced concerns about the Splash Shield. LSU offensive lineman Austin Deculus compared wearing the face guard to breathing in a Ziploc bag. Likewise, a handful of UNC players told head coach Mack Brown that the shield fogged up and wasn’t very breathable. But Brown also mentioned that a lot of his other players liked it.
“I’ve told our players: wear it until practice starts at least and try to make it work, because people think it’s safe. And then if you don’t like it, we’ll go back to the doctors and look at other options, but let’s try to make that work,” the Tar Heels’ coach said, per Inside Carolina.
At the moment, there’s no word from BC’s players or staff about the Splash Shield’s effectiveness or breathability.
Wearing the Splash Shield is just one of many steps programs are taking to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak. Teams will also abide by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel’s new regulations, which include expanding team areas to the 15-yard lines for social distancing purposes and limiting coin toss participants to two officials and one captain per team.