Tennessee’s new adidas era already has one detail that stands out: orange pants appear to be back in the mix.
The Vols rolled out their adidas uniforms across several sports this past week, and football was part of the reveal with orange, white and Dark Mode looks. Most of the photos showed white pants paired with the orange and white uniforms, which naturally sparked the question of whether Tennessee’s orange britches would return under the new apparel deal.
A post after the orange jerseys were unveiled seems to answer that. Edwin Spillman is shown wearing orange pants, a strong sign that they’ll be part of the uniform rotation moving forward.
“For Tennessee.
- Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) July 6, 2026”
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel also praised the partnership in a statement tied to the rollout.
“We appreciate adidas recognizing the power of the Tennessee brand and we are excited about the future of this transformative partnership,” Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel said. “Both current and future Vols will benefit from this historic deal. adidas is providing us with world-class resources and apparel that will continue to push our brand to the forefront of college football for years to come. We can’t wait to showcase our adidas uniforms this fall.”
There’s likely more adidas material coming, too. After Tennessee unveiled its black uniforms, the football account on X teased additional reveals.
That has led plenty of fans to point toward a Smokey Grey uniform. Tennessee brought Smokey Grey back in 2022 and then updated the look every year through the 2025 season while still with Nike. The teaser graphic also included a Smokey Grey square in the top right, along with orange, white and black.
Still, there’s no official date for whatever comes next. Tennessee had already set the reveal schedule for the orange, white, Summitt Blue and black uniforms through Thursday, but nothing has been announced for any other sets.
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