LSU Tigers Debut New Nike Combat Pro Uniforms in Game Against Arkansas

When LSU took the field on Saturday, November 28, 2009, in their game against the Arkansas Razerbacks they had a new look and uniform. The Tigers debuted the new Nike Combat Pro uniform, a one of a kind design made specifically for the final home game at LSU.

The new uniforms were presented to the LSU football team by coach Les Miles during a team meeting on Monday afternoon. Charles Scott and Richard Murphy were chosen to model the uniforms for the team. Both running backs are injured and out for the remainder of the season. Scott has a broken collarbone and Murphy is out with a knee injury.

The new Nike one-of-a-kind design featured a white jersey with purple numbers and gold accents. The pants are also white with a purple and gold stripe going down each leg and a purple "L" on the sides at the hip.

The new helmets were a classic gold color, instead of the bright yellow-gold the Tigers are accustomed to wearing. The new uniform design also included new cleats, which were the Nike Zoom Vapor Fly cleats in white and gold with a purple Nike "swoosh" mark. The bottom of the cleats were covered in the new classic gold color.

Receivers on the team got to wear the new Nike Vapor Trail gloves with the eye of the tiger imprinted inside the palm--talk about a "class act"!

The new uniforms were designed to give the team inspiration, and that was accomplished by a 33-30 overtime win for the Tigers. The new Nike Combat Pro uniforms are a new design that is very lightweight yet offers optimal protection for players.

This will be a new uniform of the future that Nike will be marketing in 2010. Other schools selected to test the uniforms were Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and TCU.

The new Nike Combat Pro uniforms are 37% lighter than traditional uniforms, giving players the ability to have more speed on the field. The material the uniforms are made out of is a stretch twill material that will not hold water or sweat. The new uniforms are even lighter than traditional dry uniforms when they are wet.

Padding has been incorporated into the base layers covered by a breathable shell that give players more mobility. Padding zones are made with dual density foam cells made to absorb and deflect impacts. A foam grid is incorporated to make sure the impacts are absorbed. This is covered by a hard plastic shield. Not only does this new gear give the players extra protection but also does not weight them down giving them the ultimate ability to gain flexibility and speed on the field. And yet, the uniform looks great!

The new uniform pants have ventilation areas built in with Nike Dri-Fit mesh material that allows for the uniform to breath and keep players cooler during action. This material replaces the traditional piping going down the sides the uniform pants and also wraps around behind the knee. The new material is lightweight and takes weight off the complete uniform package. It also acts as a cooling zone and keeps players from overheating.

The new cleats are also lightweight weighing in at a mere 10 ounces, not even a pound. The Nike Zoom Fly Vapor cleat features Zoom Air cushioning in the heel and other special engineering. These cleats will be on the market in 2010.

Look for this new uniform from Nike to become THE uniform for college athletes next year.

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Nike Reveals One-of-a-Kind LSU Uniforms