As Auburn takes the field Saturday against Utah State, the starters won't be the only new things on the field for the Tigers.
During the offseason, there were several uniform alterations made for 2011.
"There have been numerous performance-based enhancements made to the uniform that includes the material that is not noticeable," said Scott Carr, senior associate athletic director.
There are three major changes to this year's uniform.
Players' names on the back of each jersey are still the same font, but the name itself will be smaller.
Carr said the fabric being used for this year's jerseys stretches and expands more, so the names needed to be made smaller.
Another noticeable change is the stripe on the side of the pants.
"The stripe is still the same in that there is an orange stripe with navy blue on both sides," Carr said. "However, this year the stripes are not sewn on top of the pants. Instead, they are part of the pants and made from the same material."
The pants now have five panels as opposed to last year's 10, which allows for a tighter panel on the back of the leg to give more support to the hamstring, Carr said.
It also allows for a horseshoe panel that gives more support to the back of the knee and provides a better solution than bulky knee braces.
Carr also mentioned these changes make the blue stripe close to 2 inches shorter because of additional hems around the knee.
"The third change was to add 'War Eagle' on the waistline of the pants," Carr said. "It will be covered by the jerseys most of the time."
The decision to make alterations was made by Auburn's athletic department and was for performance-enhancement reasons only.
"Auburn has a very traditional uniform, so we do not discuss aesthetic changes to our uniforms even if other schools do," Carr said. "We do discuss performance enhancements to our uniforms though."
Carr also said a discussion about the possibility of having orange jerseys did not come up.
"The jerseys are still navy blue with white numerals, white and orange stripes on the sleeves and a name on the back," Carr said. "The pants continue to be white with blue and orange stripes on the side."
The changes made to the material used for the pants and jerseys were able to cut the weight of the Tigers' uniforms by 20 percent.
The material also "breathes better" and is the same weight wet as it is dry, two things which Carr said are huge improvements from the previous material.
"The jerseys are more elastic, which should make them tighter and more difficult for opponents to grab," Carr said.
While the updated uniforms are as new as some of the Tigers who will see playing time this year, the changes have gotten praise in the locker room.
"Our players love the performance of the new uniforms and have made comments that they are the best uniforms they have ever worn," Carr said.
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