"Group of Five" Chrome Domes

 

College football's fascination with chrome helmets began to penetrate the NFL this offseason. It also continued spreading among itself.

 

Now more than ever, it seems, schools from the "Group of Five" are adding chrome domes to their repertoire—ostensibly to look hip and to aid with recruiting, where they are already at a disadvantage.

 

Just look at Florida Atlantic, which unveiled these (surprisingly cool) chrome-red and -blue helmets back in March:

 

 

FAU is also one of the biggest stories of the young recruiting cycle, having landed a commitment from 4-star running back and top-100 overall player (per the 247Sports Composite) Jordan Scarlett and placing ahead of Oregon, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Washington and Stanford at No. 47 on the current 247Sports team rankings.

 

Do the helmets have everything to do with that? Of course not.

 

Florida is the ripest recruiting ground in the country, and new head coach Charlie Partridge knows the area well and is an excellent recruiter. Those are bigger factors than the helmets—no doubt.

 

But the chrome domes definitely don't hurt.