"This is all about making the athlete faster," said Mark Daniels, director of football and team sports for Adidas.
Adidas employees specializing in kinesiology, biomechanics, materials, design, wear testing, sports marketing and brand development contributed to the product, called "Techfit," Daniels said.
"Every department that touches the football category was involved," Daniels said.
With no seams on the torso, only the shoulder area, the jersey fits like a tight-fitting tube. Whereas jerseys typically are fitted with a numerical system similar to that for suits, the Techfit comes in four body sizes -- all of them tight.
Though he did not have before and after jersey weights available, Daniels said the Techfit product had been made lighter through the use of a proprietary fabric, reduced seams, and a name and numbering system. The jersey are also designed to keep players cooler with an improved ventilation system.
Besides UCLA, other Adidas-branded collegiate teams that will use the jerseys initially include Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Texas A&M and Louisville.
What will the players think of this new jersey? University of Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros tried on the new jersey this summer and told head coach Butch Jones, "we gotta have this."
Here is another quote from the press release: “The new TECHFIT jersey design will make old jerseys obsolete,” said Mark Daniels, director of football and team sports for adidas. “adidas is changing the game with this revolutionary jersey construction and compression fit because we know the right gear can make a difference during a split second play. Less material and a tighter fit means the jersey is harder to grab and you can’t tackle what you can’t grab. College football is more competitive than ever before and teams need every advantage they can get on the field.”
Sounds good to me. I hope the players are excited about wearing them this weekend. (if they actually wear them this weekend?)
Denard + a jersey that could make him even faster has to be a good thing.
