Guardian Caps Are A Disaster For Tiny Football Players

This is Auburn wide receiver, Tray Taylor. Not to be confused with another Tray Taylor who lives in the south, and DOES NOT want strangers fishing in his pond. 

No way that Tray Taylor is as adorable as Auburn's. Just look at the guy. He's 5-foot-6, "150-pounds" on paper. He transferred from Troy. Which means last year he was Tray Taylor of Troy. 

I've always loved small, speedy wide receivers. They might be my favorite brand of player. They succeed despite the odds being stacked against them. Their little legs move so fast. Pound for pound, they're the best athletes on the field. Any football player who makes it as far as Tray Taylor does at 5-foot-6 is an incredible talent. If a 6-foot-1 player could do the things Tray Taylor can, he'd be a first round draft pick. 

I've always thought small players look pretty cool on the field too. It's not like Tray Taylor looked goofy in his Troy highlights. He just looked fast. Sometimes in College Football 27, I'll specifically recruit tiny running backs. I like their vibe. They're the swaggiest guys on the field. 

But they don't wear Guardian Caps in video games. Ever since Guardian Caps came along, they've been making tiny football players look like Pop Warner kids. Just ask Deion Sanders.

"Yikes" is right, Dov. If I didn't know any better I'd think the Colorado Buffaloes were headed for a shift at the chocolate factory. 

Ironically, it's the little tiny guys who probably need Guardian Caps the most. When a 6-4 defensive end lowers his shoulder, it lines up perfectly with Tray Taylor's head. But double ironically, now that everybody wears Guardian Caps in practice, these little guy's heads are even bigger targets. Look at Tray Taylor again. Where else are you supposed to hit the guy? He's all head. It's like trying to tackle The Great Gazoo. 

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Giphy Images.

It's a stylistic disaster. Especially considering most little guys don't see a lot of playing time. Which means pretty much their whole career happens on the practice field. Meaning they'll forever be seen/remembered by their teammates and coaches as the practice squad guy who looked like Stewie Griffin.

Guardian Caps are tough for the little guys. You gotta protect your head. But at what cost? Is being able to remember your name at age 50 really worth looking a little goofy on the practice field? 

Yes. Yes it is. But it doesn't mean they don't look ridiculous.

P.S. I somehow wrote this whole blog Wednesday morning and didn't notice what might be the most brutal example of this yet.

That's a real life college football player. When I first read that tweet, I thought the hook was going to be some psycho youth football team who runs their program like a college, and gives scholarships, and has walk-on's, etc. But nope. Just a tiny college football player in a Guardian Cap.