They usually come through three or four times a year with new products.įor home games, players do a walkthrough Friday morning, then we go through and clean the locker room so it’s what coach calls “recruit ready.” Perfect and pristine. Since founder Kevin Plank ’96 is a grad, they do cool things like test products here, and based on our feedback, they may develop it or make changes. We have this great relationship with Under Armour. The structural integrity just breaks down and makes you susceptible to a foot or ankle injury, so every two or three weeks they’ll get new ones. Most players have three or four pairs of cleats in their locker as well as two pairs of training shoes for the weight room, and I encourage the guys to change out the cleats as often as possible. So they’re not locked into a size until their junior year.įor cleats, we use this Under Armour prescription chart based on your position, weight, height and shoe size.
But then between working out with our strength and conditioning coaches and eating what our team nutritionist feeds them and maturing, they keep growing. What happens is, a freshman comes in here, 18 years old, 200 pounds. It’s like a sworn oath: We put the players’ health and safety before anything else.Įach set of pads should carry a player through spring training, summer training camp and the season, and then we reevaluate. Players ask for the smallest pads, as minimalist as possible, but we walk that line to find the balance between comfort and safety. We have this tailor’s tape, and we measure across the back and across the chest, almost like you’re fitting a suit. Then we rebuild it here with decals, face mask, jaw pads, chin straps.įor the shoulder pads, we go old school. They’ll get a fresh paint job and make sure all the interior components are functioning the way they should. At the end of each season, we send them back to the manufacturer for reconditioning and recertification.
It’s pretty awesome.Įvery player has a practice helmet and a game helmet, and they should last the duration of his playing career here. We upload it to the manufacturer Riddell’s server, and they build it, custom-fit to his head. I’ll put a neoprene bonnet on them-almost like a scuba hood-and then we get all the data points for their head specifically. It’s not cookie cutter, because every player that comes through the door is a different size and shape and plays a different position.įor helmets, we do 3D custom scans of our players’ heads. We pay attention to the testing going out there. The main component of our job as equipment managers is to stay abreast of all the newest technology and protective equipment. Hampton shares how he mixes old-school tactics and the latest tech to get the best gear for the Terps, why shaving cream and mud are essential for every football he prepares, and the toughest stains to get out-as well as the fate of Head Coach Mike Locksley’s outfit after he was doused in mayonnaise when the Terps won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last year. He always looked up to fellow Long Islander Boomer Esiason ’84, and was thrilled to join the Terps. He’s worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Washington Commanders and Western Kentucky University, and came to the University of Maryland in 2016. Hampton likes to say that he grew up going to “training camp, not summer camp.” His father, Bill, ran the equipment operation for the New York Jets for nearly four decades, and Drew Hampton and his four brothers have all carried on the tradition.
But we’re so invested, and we play an important role behind the scenes,” said Hampton, who oversees two full-time staff members, Jason Smith and Nathaniel Park ’90, as well as 15 student managers. They order, inventory and distribute everything from blocking sleds to tackling dummies shoulder pads to shower sandals-anything that the more than 200 football players and staff could possibly need throughout training camp and the regular season. When record-shattering quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and the rest of the Terps football team take the field this weekend against Charlotte, every custom-fit cleat, high-tech helmet and broken-in game ball will be perfectly prepped, thanks to Senior Director of Football Equipment Operations Drew Hampton and his staff.
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