UCF Brings Back Special Helmet Decals Designed By Pediatric Hospital Patients

The UCF Knights are 1-0 this season after throttling the New Hampshire Wildcats by a score of 57-3 (although, full disclosure, I'm a UCF alum, and man, they had me nervous during the first half).

The Knights are back at it this week when they play host to the Sam Houston Bearkats, but the Knights will be trading one of their normal helmet decals for something a bit more special.

The team posted a video showing off the special decals designed by patients at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Players visited the hospital this week to help kids with their designs and this week they'll hit the field.

If this idea sounds familiar, it's because UCF did this for their Knights vs. 'Nauts spring game back in April.

According to the video the team released on Tuesday, this idea came from UCF equipment manager Brad Anderson. He explained that because of how well-received the special decals were this spring, they're going to see action in a regular-season contest.

"We got such a good reaction from the spring game with the helmets that we really wanted to put this on the field for an actual game," Anderson said. "Not just the spring game, but a game that counts towards us making the College Football Playoff."

It would certainly be cool for UCF to use these en route to a second national championship (2017. Coley Matrix. Look it up), however, the game in which the Knights will use these decals was not chosen arbitrarily.

"So we started looking at the calendar and September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, and we just really wanted to bring as many eyes and as much attention to pediatric cancer awareness as we could and what better way to do that than put the kids' decals on the helmets."

UCF and Sam Houston kick off this Saturday evening at 6:30.