There have been a lot of rumors and discussion about the possibility of the Georgia Bulldogs wearing new alternate black jerseys for the Kentucky game this Saturday.
Saturday’s game vs. the Wildcats is Senior Night and the last home game of the 2013 season. It will also be the final game between the hedges for quarterback Aaron Murray and the other UGA seniors.
Speaking to Logan Booker of Bulldawg Illustrated last week after the UK game was announced for a 7pm kick, Murray said he wants the team to wear black jerseys.
“I am going to have to bring it up to coach Richt,” Murray said. “If that happened I would be the happiest man in the world. If it’s a go or not, I am sure we will find out sometime next week.”
“I think everyone on the team would love to wear them,” Murray said. “It’s not just a senior thing. We got new gloves and new cleats last week and that was a huge thing. Everybody loved it. If we got new jerseys, everyone would pretty much go crazy for it.”
A picture surfaced online recently depicting the possible new black uniforms with the new Bulldog Bold numbers and lettering featured on Georgia’s 2013 home and away uniforms (see above). The photo was reportedly posted to Twitter by one of the UGA graduate assistants.
The all black uniform is likely just a concept, but would look better with the aforementioned new gloves and cleats. If the Bulldogs were to wear the black jerseys, it’s likely they would be combined with the traditional red helmets and silver pants.
Last night on his weekly call in show, head coach Mark Richt shot down the possibility of wearing black jerseys this weekend.
“If I had black jerseys to give them, I’d have them wear them. We just don’t have them” Richt stated. “I don’t know if that’s going to break everybody’s heart or not, but we don’t have any black jerseys in stock. If we did, I’d be all for it.”
First of all, it’s hard to believe that we don’t already have the new black jerseys on hand for future use. And it’s hard to believe that Nike, with all of their resources, couldn’t have black UGA jerseys delivered to Athens by Friday.
Richt went on to say that if the fans want a blackout to honor Aaron Murray and the seniors, he would be all for it.
“I’ll say this. If the fans want to honor Aaron Murray’s request and bless him and the seniors, I’m sure our players would love if the fans did a blackout. The players don’t necessarily have to wear the black jerseys to get a blackout, do they? It would probably help, but we don’t have all black jerseys. I’m sorry if I ruined it for everybody. I think I was supposed to wait until tomorrow to talk about that. I messed that up.”
Georgia hasn’t worn an alternate uniform or helmet since the 2011 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Boise State. In that game, the Dawgs wore Nike Pro Combat uniforms that drew mixed reviews from Bulldog Nation.
What would Aaron Murray look like in the new style black jerseys? Here is a concept image courtesy of @TheBlawgHouse.
Here’s a look at Georgia’s recent history wearing alternate uniforms:
2007
Georgia first wore black jerseys at home in a 45-20 thumping of Auburn. It was the first “blackout” game under Richt. Richt called for a blackout again for the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii on Jan. 1, 2008.
2008
With Alabama in town, the Bulldogs again called for a blackout and wore their black jerseys. The Crimson Tide went up 31-0 on the Dawgs at the half and eventually won 41-30.
2009
Against Florida in Jacksonville, the Dawgs wore a uniform with black helmets (red facemask/white stripe/traditional “G” logo), white jerseys with black numbers, and black pants. The Gators rolled over the Bulldogs 41-17.
2011
UGA wore Nike Pro Combat Uniforms vs. Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Boise State won 35-21.
View Comments (9)
The all black concept uniforms are SICK.
NIKE is a multi billion business. You tell me they can't accommodate the University and this small request? Coach Richt has known for quite a while Aaron has wanted to wear the black Jerseys. This young man has given his heart and soul to UGA for 5 years, set numerous SEC records, made the school millions and his request cannot be carried out? In simple words...that ain't right!!
Not to parse words, but what CMR said was that they "don't have them" and "don't have them in stock." That says, we don't have them today. They could have them by Friday and, thus, for the game Saturday.
Remember, this is coming from the same coach who would never say Morgan was suspended for Clemson, even though everyone on the planet knew he would be.
Good point, but I don't think Richt is into the uniform surprises any more.
I would hope that he would be more forthcoming like other schools now and just say "hey, here is what we are wearing Saturday." We'll see I guess.
Man. I've been thinking up designs of new uniforms for us for bout a month. And screw what history says, history said the dawgs play awful and lose almost everytime gameday comes to a game featuring them but we beat LSU this year!!! GO DAWGS!
I hope the editor who headlined this article did not go to the UGA J-School. Richt NEVER said "Georgia Won't Wear Black Jerseys vs. Kentucky..." He said "We just don't have them" and "we don't have any black jerseys in stock". If they arrive an hour before the game and they change into them after warm-ups... well, I'd want to have earplugs if I were on the field if they DO run out in black... We will see.
We realize he didn't say that, but he said something in the past about not using uniform surprises to motivate the team. I guess we'll find out tonight.
They wore the black jerseys in the 2008 Sugar Bowl game against Hawaii
We need to wear the New Blackout Jersey design this year against Tennessee. If you watched the game last year you can see the Momentum it give Tennessee compared to all the other games TN played. Lets Go Dawgs