“Come on down, guys,”
Mississippi State head football
coach Dan Mullen said as four
of his players descended the
front steps of Barnes & Noble
to a cheering crowd of 100 or so
Mississippi State faithful. “Put
a little bit of hop in your step, a
little bit of tempo.”
The four modeling players,
Jamar Chaney, Anthony Dixon,
Derek Sherrod and Bo Walters,
ascended the steps of a podium
to meet their head coach
and gazed upon the captivated
crowd, almost seeming to be
taken aback by the cheering
fans and flashing cameras –
zoom lenses and cell phones
alike.
Timidly, Chaney, a senior
linebacker, approached the
microphone: “We love the new
uniforms,” he said to a crowd
bursting into awkward laughter.
“They are way better than
last year’s, man. We can’t wait
to put them on for the first
game.”
Chaney was speaking, of
course, about MSU’s new Adidas
uniforms and helmets that were
unveiled Wednesday at an event
held at the front lawn of Barnes
& Noble, which featured a
speech given by Mullen prior to
the player introduction.
“We got a crowd out here this
big just to see a new uniform,”
Mullen said. “I can’t wait to see
the turnout at the stadium.”
Mullen said he was excited
about the new uniform’s design,
calling it a “speed look.” He
explained the MSU athletic
department often tackles the
role of catering to athletes
between the ages of 18 and 22.
He said athletes representing
that age group “really do care
what they look like, and what
clothes they wear and what
shoes they wear.”
“You’ll see today that our
guys got all polished up to put
on the new uniform.”
Chaney chose a term different
than polished to describe how
he felt wearing the new line of
football apparel; he called his
uniform “fresh.”
“They look like a good team
would wear this type of uniform,”
he said.
Chaney said little things like
putting on appealing uniforms
help him get ready for games
and can even entice recruits.
Walters, a sophomore linebacker,
showed more interest in
the uniforms’ technical aspects.
He said the Adidas uniforms
allowed more mobility than the
2008 Russell uniforms.
“They are much tighter,”
Walters said. “And you don’t
even have to lace them up, you
feel like you can move better.
It’s like you aren’t even wearing
pants.
He said the sleeves have a
design allowing for significant
freedom regarding arm and
shoulder movement.
“I feel like I have more breathing
room,” he said.
Adidas sales representative
Michael Ball said the football
team would sport a different
uniform combination every
game, mixing and matching
colors as the coaches see fit.
“Players love it; coaches love
it; there will be a lot of different
looks,” Ball said. “It’s pretty
cool, sort of what Oregon does.
It’s a step in that direction.”
Mullen said the MSU football
team would debut against
Jackson State wearing maroon
jerseys and white pants.
Adidas will sponsor far more
than MSU football uniforms.
Ball said an agreement should
be finalized next week regarding
baseball and basketball uniforms.
Not only that, Ball said
Adidas has adopted MSU’s new
array of logos with intentions
to create lines of clothing ranging
from T-shirts to jackets for
men, women and children.
Mullen said Adidas is the right
company to keep MSU athletic
teams and the fans that support
them “looking much better
than the team up north.”
The Adidas agreement was
actually reached in late 2008
while former head coach
Slyverstor Croom still manned
the front office. Ball said the
direction of the contract shifted
upon Croom’s departure.
“Once he left, we had to
change a lot of things,” Ball
said. “His expectations and the
things he wanted to do were
a little different than Coach
Mullen’s … Not that there is
anything wrong with it, but
Croom was a khaki and hat guy.
That’s all he wanted to wear.”
Ball said that Mullen will be
more receptive to what Adidas
has to offer from a “sideline
standpoint.” He said Mullen
does not mind wearing Adidas
gear specifically crafted for
head coaches, citing visors as
an example.
“He is going to be a good
statue for us on the sideline for
everybody to see,” said Ball.
Regarding MSU’s new football
uniforms and helmet,
Mullen said, “They will really
kick-off a new era for MSU
football.”