More On New Vols Uniforms & Other Misc Notes From Tennessee’s Media Day

Apr 20, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans line up for autographs before the spring Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers held their annual media day on Thursday and it was a memorable one.

First off, the Vols revealed their new uniforms for the 2013 season.

The Vols will keep their same color combinations as usual, with the addition of an alternate “Smokey Gray” uniform. White on white and white top with orange pants will still be the away jerseys while orange on orange and orange with white pants will be still be the home jerseys. The new uniforms are part of the Adidas TECHFIT uniform line.

The away jerseys have Tennessee printed on the front above the numbers and the Power T on the back. The home jerseys have the Power T above the number. The new alternate jersey has”Vols” written above the numbers. The home and alternate jerseys both have an outline of the state of Tennessee on the back.

According to Butch Jones the alternate smokey gray jersey will be used only once this upcoming season. Jones said he isn’t sure which game it will be used for, but he did confirm they’d be used for a home game.

"As of right now, it’ll be a one-game deal. We have not decided what game it will be, so that’s still in discussions, but as of right now, the initial plan is for a one-game deal."

Jones seemed to be open to the possibility of using the jerseys more frequently in the future. That will likely be decided by the reaction to the jerseys, which has been mostly positive so far.

Butch has been very adamant about protecting Tennessee’s valued tradition and he approached the uniform changes in the same way.

"I just want to make sure that everyone understands that everything we do at the University of Tennessee is based on our proud tradition. Everything is about a tradition because that’s who we are, but it’s also building on that tradition……The great thing about being here at Tennessee is that we have great tradition. But you look at any great company, any great organization, they’re always staying ahead of the times, they’re always embracing change and change is difficult. I think these are very subtle changes"

Players react to new Smokey Gray jersey

Misc. notes from media day:

• Butch Jones said that his phone has blown up with recruits excited about the new uniforms.
• Jones also unveiled his game day attire: White Tennessee polo shirt, khaki pants and black shoes — NO orange pants
• The Vols expect to play anywhere from 13 to 16 true freshmen, with the biggest concentration of them being at wide receiver.
• Linebacker Curt Maggitt should be more involved in practice next week.
• Butch is hoping to see 40,000-45,000 people at Tennessee’s open practice on Saturday night.
• Riyahd Jones is still undergoing evaluations on his calves, but Jones acknowledged he’ll be out “months”, not weeks
• Corey Vereen is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a knee injury.
• Jones said he will decided on a starting quarterback when someone has “asserted themselves as the starting quarterback”. Jones said “that ould be next week, that could be Thursday, that could be Friday prior to Austin Peay. When we have that comfort level and we can say `hey this is going to be the guy for game one starting the season.”