In order to celebrate and honor its history, Utah Football will be decked out in a new uniform on Saturday night — only this new uniform will actually resemble some of the older logos for the university. The Utes found it fitting to sport some throwback uniforms for this year’s Homecoming game, and players are excited to display their new look.
Jared Norris got to try on and show off the uniform before anyone else in the locker room had the opportunity. Although it won’t negatively or positively influence his game, he thinks it just adds to the excitement of this week’s festivities.
“They’re awesome,” Norris said. “They’re bringing a lot of old Utah tradition back with the two “U”s, and they kind of bring some new school, so it’s a fun uni for us to wear.”
The actual jersey itself is red, and the pants are white with red stripes on the front. The helmet is all white, and in place of the typical drum and feather logo, two overlapping “U”s replace it.
Wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield agrees with Norris,and adds that it is fun to see his players get another cool uniform, something the rest of the country is also jumping on board with.
“It’s always cool when you’re able to go back to what it was many, many years ago, and it gives the guys a little bit more swag to have another jersey,” Stubblefield said.
Hunter Dimick is expected to return to the field this weekend since being injured against Utah State and thinks this is the perfect game to come back. He is looking forward to looking sharp in his new outfit.
“They look good — they look really good,” Dimick said. “We’re all pretty stoked to wear them.”
While he is looking forward to that aspect, his motivation for the game is comparable to any other game this season. He understands how hyped the game is and does not want to see any one of his teammates come out flat regarding the circumstances.
“Motivation can’t really be a factor as far as not having it,” Dimick said. “It might be a little more knowing it’s a Homecoming game, but at the same time we’re just going to keep trying like we have every week and keep doing what we’re doing.”
Head coach Kyle Whittingham agrees with Dimick 100 percent, and even though he thinks the uniforms are just alright, he’s focusing on the bigger picture: winning the game.
“It’s great for Homecoming to be happening this week and for people to come back and that type of thing,” Whittingham said. “But at this level of football you’re motivated regardless of what else is going on.”
This attitude rings true within each player, including Norris. This will be the last Homecoming of his career, so for GameDay to be here for it makes it that much more special. Overall, Norris hopes his team can perform well on one of the nation’s biggest stages, and after all, plenty of things are going in their favor.
Aside from ESPN’s College GameDay being in Salt Lake City and the new throwback uniforms, the Utes will also be breaking in their new turf. After everything’s said and done, Norris believes his team can uphold its ranking and live up to the moment.
“Every game is big game for us. Of course you always want to win your Homecoming, but Cal is a good football team, and we’re preparing our butts off to go out to put on a good show,” Norris said. “I feel like we’ve earned this opportunity and what we do with it from here on out is totally up to us. [The] only people that can beat us are ourselves.”
@kbrenneisen