FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas’ football uniforms from the 2006-07 seasons are widely considered one of the more popular in program history, and they’re making a comeback in 2019.
On Tuesday, the program unveiled a throwback alternate look once worn by Razorback greats like Darren McFadden, Peyton Hillis and Felix Jones during the final two seasons of Houston Nutt’s era in Fayetteville.
Earlier this week, HawgSports reached out to Nutt for his thoughts on how the uniform concept came about and what he thinks of Chad Morris bringing it back this fall.
“Danny [Nutt] and I went to the Jermain Taylor fight. Then we saw him on TV and said, ‘Look, he’s representing Arkansas.’ You’ve always got to represent our state, man,” Nutt said. “So, I started going back through all of the uniforms. I went all the way back to when I could really remember, and that was when I was seven years old. That was 1964, so I went through all the uniforms from ‘64 on.
“I said, ‘Here’s the thing that’s going to fit with tradition: it’s the two stripes (on the pants).’ There was one year I went with a solid stripe – I call it a Pittsburgh Steelers stripe – I think it was my first year. Then I said, ‘Nah, I want to go back to the two stripes on the side of the pants.’ It’s either got to be ‘Arkansas’ on the front or ‘Razorbacks’ on the front, one of the two. We went with Arkansas, and that’s where that Taylor conversation came in.
“And of course we wanted to keep that Razorback helmet – that red Razorback helmet. To me, now, I can see a throwback game, but when I start seeing silver, platinum, those black helmets – I get recruiting and all of that, but to me, 99-percent of the time you’ve got to be in that red helmet with that Razorback. You’ve just got to.
“It was a clean uniform. We had a real clean uniform, especially that ‘05-’06-’07, it was a clean uniform. Boy, pretty. Whether it was white on white or red on white, boy it was pretty.”
While the decision to bring back the look in 2019 had nothing to do with Nutt, the former head Hog is proud to see Arkansas get back to a more traditional look.
“I feel good about it, I feel real good about it,” Nutt said. “It goes back to tradition. If you look at most of the tradition in years past – that’s what any foundation is built on, tradition and pride – it’s the cleanest look you can get. It’s a pretty uniform.”
Arkansas will still have its most recent uniform options available for the upcoming season, as well.
The current look, which was slightly modified in 2018, includes the athletics department’s official font, with tusk-like points on the outside shoulders and a sharp pointed line down both sides of the pant legs.
The last time the Razorbacks wore a true “throwback” uniform was in 2014 when Alabama visited Fayetteville.
Arkansas lost that day, 14-13, in uniforms designed to commemorate the 50-year commemoration of its 1964 national championship team.
The Razorbacks open the 2019 season with a home game against Portland State at 3 p.m. on August 31.