Tennessee bringing back ‘Smokey Grey’ uniform set

Tennessee is going back to the ‘smokey grey’ uniforms, per an announcement on Thursday. After one season of ‘dark mode’ black uniforms, the Volunteers will return to a grey alternate look in 2022.

Interestingly enough, Tennessee teased three new ‘smokey grey’ designs, each set to debut over the next three seasons.

“Each design honors Tennessee’s unique tradition and innovative identity,” Tennessee announced on Thursday.

The Volunteers first wore the ‘smokey grey’ uniforms back in 2013 under Butch Jones. Jeremy Pruitt shelved the look, but Josh Heupel and Danny White have now brought it back for the 2022 season. You can expect Tennessee to wear the uniforms at least one time this season — perhaps more as we saw with the black uniforms.

Heupel and White came up with ‘Dark Mode’ for 2021, but supply chain issues kept the helmet white for the look. Now in 2022, it appears that the gray helmet will return — complete with the smokey mountain accent underneath the Power T.

White and Heupel have preached on the importance of alternate uniforms before, utilizing the tool at UCF before arriving in Knoxville. Now with options — and supply chain restrictions eased — they’re ready to unleash Nike for some added options.

Regardless of what you think about tradition (trust me, I get it), it’s a pretty easy recruiting tool to utilize. Current leadership is clearly ready to capitalize on it, too.