'Why don't we push Nike?' The story behind Ohio State's return to gray jersey sleeves

The Buckeyes are refreshing their look for 2026 with a nod to the past. Here's how it happened.

Ohio State quarterback Juluan Sayin models the core home jersey with the new Buckeye Stripe. (Ohio State football)

COLUMBUS — While on a trip to Nike headquarters in Oregon in May 2023, Kevin Ries wanted to take a quick detour to one of the company’s nearby manufacturing plants where Ohio State’s jerseys were made. Ries hoped to put some faces to the names he had been corresponding with for the decade-plus he had been serving as OSU’s football equipment manager and, as a certified uniform nerd, wanted to see the place where the magic happens.

As he observed the rolls of uniform fabrics on the walls, a flash of silver caught his eye. That same factory produced NFL jerseys, and the Arizona Cardinals had just unveiled a new set for the 2023 season. Those jerseys included a new, shinier silver on the sleeves. The Detroit Lions would implement the same material into their jersey sleeves in 2024.

“It piqued my interest, what that material was,” Ries told BAD this week. “They said it was the first time they’ve used it.”

There, the seed for the idea that eventually became Ohio State’s new “Buckeye Stripe” was planted.