The Tennessee football program will wear a new black alternate uniform for Saturday’s game against South Carolina, which kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
This marks the first time since 2009 that the Volunteers will wear black jerseys, as they were paired with white helmets and orange pants for a 31-13 win over the Gamecocks that Halloween.
As a leak showed this summer, this year’s black jerseys feature orange numbers, an orange Power “T” at the base of the collar, orange Nike Swoosh on the left chest and an orange and white SEC logo on the right chest. The phrase “My All” is also sewn inside the back collar.
The jersey is paired with black pants that include two orange stripes down the sides, as well as an orange Nike Swoosh on the left hip and an orange Power “T” on the right hip, and is topped off with a white helmet that features an orange and black stripe down the center, black facemask and orange Power “T” outlined in black.
Tennessee initially planned to wear a black helmet with the ensemble, but productions issues prevented them from receiving the shipment on time. The equipment staff then modified the Volunteers’ standard helmet to make it fit with the design.
That said, head coach Josh Heupel called this the “first rendition” of alternate uniforms under his watch. Perhaps the black helmets will be available the next time Tennessee deviates from its standard look.
“I do think we will have an alternate uniform that will appear periodically throughout the season,” Heupel said during his press conference on Thursday. “We have the best college football uniform. The orange and white, the classic look, there is nothing better, man.”
Check out more photos of Tennessee’s “Dark Mode” uniforms below. And to learn more about the Volunteers’ uniform history, make sure to follow our friend Chad Fields on Twitter.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics.