Christmas came in early August for the Vols. The switch from Adidas to Nike has been well-documented over the past year, but it finally really hit home for the players when they put on their gear for the first time just a day or two before the first practice of fall camp on Tuesday night.
“Well, we all know about the brand of Nike and what it means,” Butch Jones said after the first practice. “Just to see the look on their faces – they didn’t receive any Nike gear over the summer. So they were all waiting for report day at training camp and they were like kids at Christmas.
“You have to feel good and that is a part of the investment our institution has made into our student athletes. They love it. And if they love it, I love it. It was great to see it out there and our players looked forward to today. Now we have to make sure we represent the Nike brand just like we represent the Tennessee brand.”
The players gave the new gear positive reviews.
“It feels pretty good,” said quarterback Joshua Dobbs. “I’m not going to lie – it feels pretty good, nice and comfy and tight and everything, but it feels good, I love it. Obviously it feels different, it’s some different stuff going on, but it’s definitely good to be back in the swoosh.”
Here’s a photo gallery of Nike-related things around the team:
