2015 jerseys

[GT18YJjr]

Is there any proof that Russell hurts recruiting? Like has a recruit ever said it was a factor?

Asked a player about this while I was still at Tech. He said that recruits and players mention that they had better quality uniforms in high school, but it is not the deciding factor when choosing the school. The main reason the players dislike Russel Unis is the fact they are less 'high tech' than Nike or UA. The example he gave is that Russel jerseys are noticeably heavier when playing in rain.

 

[swampsting]

Just for offseason fun, obviously, but GSU just switched from Nike to Adidas. I know that the staff was angry about it, and Monken even refused to wear it himself at first. Lol. But the alternate unis Adidas did for them this past season were unreal!

Those gray things?

 

[SidewalkJacket]

Those gray things?

Yes. I loved them. As a one time deal. And I know that a lot of GSU folks hated the alternate stuff due to the longtime traditional unis. I just think it was cool and I know the players and all my students at school LOVED them.

 

[BabyJacket1990]

Russell sucks! Case closed

 

[jwsavhGT]

Russell sucks! Case closed

Don't hold back...tell us how you really feel.

 

[JorgeJonas]

How do we explain to the casual fan our team is not in fact called the "Fly Emirates?"

They may also be perturbed by the fact that the only size they come in is smedium.

 

[Eric]

Is there any proof that Russell hurts recruiting? Like has a recruit ever said it was a factor?

Yeah, one recruit told me he chose a SEC school over us due to jerseys.

 

[00Burdell]

Yeah, one recruit told me he chose a SEC school over us due to jerseys.

That's nothing. One time, I was all set to have dinner at this one restaurant then I saw the napkins they were using at the restaurant across the street! Whoa! I bolted.

 

[RamblinCharger]

It's not like these guys are only getting jerseys to wear. It involves everything that your players get. Undershirts, shorts, workout gear, socks, hoodies, etc... No one wants to walk around campus in some ugly Russell shorts.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Yeah, one recruit told me he chose a SEC school over us due to jerseys.

That right there tells me we're better off w/o him. A kid with those kinds of priorities we don't need.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

That right there tells me we're better off w/o him. A kid with those kinds of priorities we don't need.

I kind of agree with this although I do think if Russell does not make as high quality a product for the athletes materially as other companies than that is a negative. But I find it hard to believe that a kid found all things equal between an SEC school and Tech (let's assume Vanderbilt just to be as close as we can) and then the decision really came down to one of uniforms.

I am more able to believe a kid visits Tech and checks out the quality of the gear and just uses that as an easy and quick way to eliminate us rather than doing so as a matter of considered opinion at the end of a long process. It seems superficial. But if you have 25 schools to choose from then many eliminations are likely to be superficial until you get down to just a manageable few candidates you can really research and think about.

 

[SidewalkJacket]

That right there tells me we're better off w/o him. A kid with those kinds of priorities we don't need.

This is killing me. These value judgements on recruits and the "ones we don't need." These are KIDS. 16 and 17 year olds we are recruiting. Wanting cool unis doesn't make a kid some kind of locker room cancer. You think every member of GT's football team is some renaissance man who values modest unis and the art of the arc block? I want the coolest uniforms we can get. And by cool I don't mean what I view as tradition-honoring and clean. We need all the help we can get with recruiting (even though my all-time favorite unis are the Gailey era ones).

 

[BabyJacket1990]

Some of you do realize that it's 2015 and that a lot these kids are raised in a very different background that most of us.

 

[bass ackwards]

UA and Nike = Foot Locker, ****'s, Hibbett, etc. Russell = Wal-Mart. I don't know how much difference it makes in recruiting, but it's never going to help.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

This is killing me. These value judgements on recruits and the "ones we don't need." These are KIDS. 16 and 17 year olds we are recruiting. Wanting cool unis doesn't make a kid some kind of locker room cancer. You think every member of GT's football team is some renaissance man who values modest unis and the art of the arc block? I want the coolest uniforms we can get. And by cool I don't mean what I view as tradition-honoring and clean. We need all the help we can get with recruiting (even though my all-time favorite unis are the Gailey era ones).

The kid made one of the most significant decisions of his life based on the cool factor of a uniform. I don't think GT is the best fit for kids with that type of value system.

 

[Skeptic]

That right there tells me we're better off w/o him. A kid with those kinds of priorities we don't need.

Spoken like a guy who doesn't need a Bback!

 

[SidewalkJacket]

The kid made one of the most significant decisions of his life based on the cool factor of a uniform. I don't think GT is the best fit for kids with that type of value system.

Or maybe it's a kid who knows that what he wants to do for a living after football doesn't require a GT degree. And maybe he is confident enough in his ability to crack the depth chart anywhere he goes. And maybe he has no inherent loyalty to any college football team or conference. And so, when he sees all things being equal in regards to the schools he's choosing from, he says, "well, I gotta decide somehow, and you know what, Russell stuff sucks."

 

[JorgeJonas]

I obviously do not know the mind of a 17 year old recruit, but isn't the issue here that we don't want to be crossed off the list based on something (we believe is) so silly? I don't believe many of the kids are choosing where to go to school based on uniforms, otherwise Penn State and Alabama and UGA and Ohio State, etc. wouldn't be getting good players every single year. However, when you aren't a factory, they may be choosing not to go to a school where things aren't perceived as "cool." We need to be able to just check that box, then get to the next discussion(s) with the prospect.

I would add that anyone who rushed a fraternity or sorority likely made choices on which to pledge based on what they thought would be cool about it. Many of those people (including me) did just fine at Tech. It isn't a sign that a kid can't succeed at Tech; it's a sign that a kid is, indeed, a kid.

 

[ClydeBrick]

Or maybe it's a kid who knows that what he wants to do for a living after football doesn't require a GT degree.

If that is the case then GT is probably wasting a scholly on him because unless he is a starter as a Freshman, he probably won't be at GT long enough to impact the program. With the way the NCAA requires progress now, a GT SA has to be focused on academics. If you don't care about your academics, there is no place to hide at GT like you can at other schools.

Like I said in this thread about this same subject (oddly enough, started by the same person as this thread), if a SA can get into GT, wants to come to GT, is up to the challenge of GT and wants to play in CPJ's system - is a uniform manufacturer really going to be a deciding factor?


As to the money involved @Bruce Wayne said this in that same thread:

Play around with the database at this link and you can see what's going on.

Florida State University ACC Nike $4,400,000
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ACC Nike $3,550,000
North Carolina State University ACC Adidas $3,025,000
Georgia Institute of Technology ACC Russell Athletic $2,300,000
University of Virginia ACC Nike $1,575,000
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ACC Nike $1,275,000
Clemson University ACC Nike $1,000,000

Whatever connections between Russell and Tech, or even if none, presumably the AD who signed the contract at the time found that this was the best available as far as compensation to the school. AD's are almost always going to sign the most lucrative deal . . . and not go for a less lucrative deal just because some other manufacturer is sexier.

Tech's contract seems to run through 2017 or 2018. Since no extension has been signed at this time I am going to guess that MBob is researching and working on what available deals can be negotiated and out there for him for beyond 2017/18. Unless you think Adidas or whomever would want to come in and offer to buy out a contract that Tech has with Russell, then you need to wait a couple years to see what sort of contract MBob works out to extend with Russell or go to a different supplier.

But given that Tech has a better deal (as of August 2014) than VPI and Clemson . . . COMBINED . . . then I think it is pretty clear why Tech went with Russell and is honoring their contract to them.

Maybe MBob will be testing the waters and taking competing bids with all vendors over the next couple years and if Tech has continued on-field success in football then it may just be the honey that draws the flies.

Russell appears to pay GT well since we are not popularly thought of as a year-in-year-out "big boy" program in football or basketball. Lets not fool ourselves folks; it ain't tradition (or education) that makes a winning football program - it's plain ole money. The more money your program has, the more successful the program can be because money buys long-term success in collegiate sports.

 

[UgaBlows]

The kid made one of the most significant decisions of his life based on the cool factor of a uniform. I don't think GT is the best fit for kids with that type of value system.

That is exactly what i was thinking.....not GT material