The Miami Hurricanes Are Honoring Jose Fernandez With A Helmet Decal

The baseball world suffered an unthinkable loss with the tragic passing of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, and the impact is being felt well beyond the sport in which Fernandez starred. On Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes will take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets between the white lines of Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta and the road team will honor Fernandez with a special helmet decal.

On Wednesday, the entire Marlins team surrounded Fernandez’s hearse during his memorial service and, prior to that, various players and teams stopped to pay tribute to the fallen youngster in different ways. The tribute from Mark Richt and the Hurricanes falls in line with that in a nice way and, it appears that the Hurricanes will be the first non-baseball entity to share an homage in this fashion (at least so far).

Given the proximity between Miami’s campus and where Fernandez lived and worked, this makes all the sense in the world, but it remains a fantastic gesture from Richt and his entire program. Fernandez’s memory will certainly live on in a number of ways, conjured up by the unforgettable video of teammate Dee Gordon blasting an unexpected home run. But in a situation like this, each and every tribute feels appropriate.