2 days Ago By David Suggs
Notre Dame's uniforms are among the most iconic in sport. The gold-plated helmet and navy blue and white kits have been lionized for posterity, finding refuge in all sorts of media, from Grantland Rice tales to the beloved film "Rudy." No one has wore the outfit quite like junior cornerback Charles Du, though.
Du, a walk-on, has yet to record a minute of action in his collegiate career. Yet his jersey is all the rage among legions of college football fans. The reason why? It features the usage of traditional Chinese characters to write out his name, not the typical English spelling.
Here's what you need to know. MORE NOTRE DAME-GEORGIA: Georgia's Parker Jones commits costly sideline penalty in Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl fans pay tribute to Bourbon Street attack victims Revisiting Marcus Freeman's college playing career at Ohio State Revisiting Riley Leonard's time as a two-sport standout in high school Will Riley Leonard be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft? Taking a look back at Notre Dame's ugly loss to Northern Illinois Charles Du jersey, explained To the naked eye, Du's jersey looks a lot like that of his Notre Dame teammates. His No.
49 is fairly inconspicuous — at least until he turns around. That's when Du's nameplate is revealed, adorned with that ornate Chinese lettering. A Beijing native who attended high school in California, Du's kit honors his Chinese roots.
Charles Du's name on his jersey featured in Chinese 🔥 Du is a walk-on cornerback at Notre Dame from Beijing 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/5ADtctj3hd He's not the first player to perform such a gesture.
Former Arizona State tailback Jackson He sported Chinese characters on the back of his jersey while playing for the Sun Devils. He made history in 2020 when he became the first Chinese-born player to feature in a Power 5 conference game. He's also the first Chinese-born player to score a touchdown, finding the end zone in a 70-7 win over Arizona back in 2020.
Arizona State running back Jackson He makes history: first Chinese-born player to score a TD in FBS. He does it during ASU's blowout of archrival Arizona. pic.
twitter.com/fZ9YaL5IwT He's jersey was eventually enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps Du's uniform could receive similar treatment in the coming few years.
We just received the uniform of @ASUFootball ’s Peizhang "Jackson" He; the 1st Chinese-born player to score a touchdown in FBS history! He came to Arizona state after moving thousands of miles from his hometown of Shaoguan, China. #GoDevils pic.twitter.
com/2VsO5HorDK The Irish don't typically don names on the back of their jerseys — the honor is only reserved for postseason play. As such, the fact that Du has the opportunity to pay homage to his lineage in such a way is something of a minor miracle given the program he turns out for. Still, it's hard to imagine there's a much better uniform on offer in the world of college football than Du's.
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