Georgia football coach Kirby Smart stopped short of rolling his eyes when asked about the Bulldogs wearing black jerseys, but he made it clear the topic wasn’t of great importance to him.
“We did it once against one of those buy-teams (Louisiana-Lafayette, 2016), but for energy and enthusiasm,” Smart said Tuesday night, informed that Georgia fans had great interest in the Bulldogs wearing black alternate jerseys this season.
“I don’t think you need energy and enthusiasm against Auburn — if we do we’ve got some other problems. I just don’t think that’s relevant.”
The Georgia football equipment Twitter account revealed a picture showing the team has black jerseys in stock this spring.
Smart’s answer Tuesday night would seem to indicate the UMass game — on Nov. 17 — would be the most likely regular season game for the Bulldogs to wear the black jerseys this season.
Georgia closes the regular season on Nov. 24 with a noon game against Georgia Tech at Sanford Stadium.
“I’m not saying we’re not ever going to do it, I’m not saying that we are, that’s just really not what is important to me,” Smart said. “I believe in the guys going out and playing physical, playing hard; you don’t have to do things like that to get them fired up to do it, I really think they should want to do it.
“It’s great for recruiting, though.”
Georgia wore the black jerseys under Mark Richt for the 2007 Auburn game, a 45-20 win at Sanford Stadium.
The Bulldogs wore the black jerseys again against Hawaii in the Jan. 1, 2008, Sugar Bowl, a 41-10 win.
The black jerseys fell somewhat out of favor after Georgia wore the black jerseys and lost to Alabama in 2008 by a 41-30 count.
