The Tennessee Volunteers lead the country in overall offense and scoring offense after a 10-2 common season that has yielded a go back and forth to the Orange Bowl.
Oh, and so they rank manner up there in style statements, too.
Tennessee has set a single-season program file via dressed in a whopping seven other uniform combos this season. The Vols wore their conventional orange jerseys with white pants and white helmets on 4 events inside of Neyland Stadium and went 4-0 in that glance, opening with a blowout of Ball State, ultimate with a rout of Missouri and amassing memorable wins over Florida and Alabama in between.
There was once the orange-on-orange look in drubbings of Akron and UT Martin, and the “Stormtrooper” glance in all white was once undefeated as smartly with wins at Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt.
Even prior to his first season with the Vols, trainer Josh Heupel hinted that extra colours and combos could be at the manner.
“As we transfer ahead, it can be other alternatives so far as what the uniform looks as if while you run out at the box — glance excellent, really feel excellent, play excellent,” Heupel mentioned all the way through the summer season of 2021. “We need to create a good participant revel in from the instant that they step on campus till they are achieved however have a long-term dating with them that lasts perpetually.”
The Vols wore 5 other uniform combos ultimate season, including black jerseys and black pants to altered white helmets along with the 4 number one combos involving orange and white. Tennessee for many years wore orange and white jerseys and white pants till 1977, when the overdue Johnny Majors in his first season unveiled orange pants at Alabama and for the house finale towards Vandy.
This previous summer season, Tennessee introduced it will be dressed in its Nike “Smokey Gray” uniforms at least one time a yr all the way through the 2022-25 seasons. The Vols had displayed that glance in a 2015 victory over Georgia and 2016 wins over Florida and Nebraska within the Tune Town Bowl, however the ones uniforms had been then shelved after a 41-0 loss to Georgia in 2017, which marked Tennessee’s worst loss ever inside of Neyland.
Tennessee wore gray from head to toe in a 40-13 dismantling of LSU inside of Tiger Stadium on Oct. 8, which led to a 5-0 get started.
The Vols then wore black helmets, black jerseys and black pants — referencing the show as “Darkish Mode” — for the primary time ever all the way through a 44-6 throttling of visiting Kentucky on Oct. 29. That triumph yielded an 8-0 file and a No. 1 rating 3 days later within the season’s first installment of the Faculty Soccer Playoff ratings.
Tennessee wore white jerseys and orange pants for the one time this season on Nov. 5 at reigning nationwide champion Georgia, falling 27-13, and the 7th and ultimate glance came about Nov. 19, when the Vols wore orange helmets with white jerseys and white pants at South Carolina.
“I am getting excited for the youngsters when they are thinking about it,” Heupel mentioned when requested in regards to the orange helmets prior to the go back and forth to Columbia. “Our vintage uniforms are as excellent as there may be, and I really like them, however our avid gamers love with the ability to put a twist on issues. In addition they love getting a possibility to be part of selecting issues out.
“Our management council was once part of selecting those out this previous spring, and there was once numerous pleasure.”
The Vols fell 63-38 to the Gamecocks, which impulsively eradicated their playoff possibilities, and it straight away begged the truthful query shifting ahead.
When, if ever, will Tennessee put on the orange helmets once more?
Touch David Paschall at [email protected]
Tennessee Athletics photograph / Freshman edge rusher Joshua Josephs readies for the snap all the way through Tennessee’s 63-38 loss at South Carolina on Nov. 19, when the Vols wore orange helmets.