LSU Players Show Off New Face Shield For Helmet, Complain About Not Being Able To Breathe

Getty Image / Todd Kirkland

LSU football shared on Twitter that it would be adding splash shields to its helmets for what we can assume to be for the foreseeable future to help limit the spread of the coronavirus. The shield essentially looks like a typical visor just positioned tighter to the player’s face over the mouth.

Even someone like me, who has put on a football helmet maybe five times in their life, can see that it looks extremely uncomfortable and that’s the same sentiment a couple of the team’s players shared as well. Linebacker Soni Fonua shared a video of him rockin’ the new helmet explaining that he can’t breathe under the shield while offensive lineman Austin Deculus is also heard in the video saying it’s like breathing in a Ziploc bag.

Less than ideal, but these are the times we’re living in.

If the shields were uncomfortable and tough to breathe with while simply sitting inside the team’s locker room I can’t imagine how tough it’s going to wear the shields while practicing and playing in Louisiana heat over the next couple of months.

LSU is set to kick off its 2020 season at home against Ole Miss on Sept. 26. You may be thinking ‘oh, late-September? It’ll be cooled off by then.’ If you are thinking that, you’ve clearly never been to Baton Rouge in September, it’ll still likely be plenty steamy come kick-off for that game.

It’ll be interesting to see if LSU sticks with the new face shields and what other programs follow suit and tell their players to wear them as well.