Photo: UConn Football Debuts Cancer Awareness Helmets for Game vs. South Florida

The Connecticut Huskies are using Saturday's game against South Florida to raise awareness for cancer.

Huskies players will be wearing all-white uniforms and custom helmets featuring special colored-ribbon decals that depict a type of cancer that has impacted their family in some way.

In addition to the all-white jerseys being worn by the players, the school is encouraging fans attending the game at Rentschler Field to wear white as they look to White Out Cancer.

"We are going to be honoring those in our organization who have fought the battle against cancer," Huskies head coach Jim Mora Jr. said of the special game. "It's modeled after the NFL's Crucial Catch. It's important to recognize those who have fought the battle. Our players will wear a decal on their helmet, symbolizing the type of cancer that their family has been affected by. Some will have multiple stickers on their helmet."

Mora also explained his grandmother and mother dealt with breast cancer, while his father-in-law and sister-in-law were afflicted with pancreatic cancer.

"It used to be just breast cancer awareness month, now it is Crucial Catch and has expanded out," Mora said. "Particularly for me, it's breast cancer, which my grandma perished from and my mom has beaten three times and pancreatic cancer, which my wife's father died from and her sister-in-law is battling right now."

UConn will be the second FBS team to utilize personalized cancer-ribbon decals on its helmets during a game. Miami (Ohio) began the practice in 2018.

According to the American Cancer Society, the disease remains the second-most common cause of death in the United States.

The South Florida-Connecticut game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET.