Technical Tidbits 8/23: adidas Officially Announced

Georgia Tech officially announced that adidas will be the next uniform provider for the Athletics program starting next summer when the existing contract with Russell Athletic expires. The news was greeted with much fanfare as GTAA and adidas held a joint press conference in McCamish Pavilion. adidas sees Georgia Tech as an opportunity to gain a foothold in the South and collaborate with a world class institution. For Tech, adidas is a company that can provide a higher quality and more consistent product both on the field and in the stands. Athletic Director Todd Stansbury said that adidas will be picking one shade of gold, “Tech gold” if you will, and using it uniformly to help build the brand and raise awareness. If you’re interested in watching the full press conference, check out the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Facebook page.

We won’t see the Yellow Jackets in adidas jerseys until 2018 but they will take the field nonetheless in just a few short days. After a slow start to fall camp, Tuesday’s practice may have been the teams best yet. Coach Paul Johnson said practice was “a little better” than previous practices. KirVonte Benson was singled out as having a particularly strong day. The redshirt sophomore is vying for the starting B-Back role in the wake of Dedrick Mills’s dismissal last week. There was some bad news coming out of practice. Star AB Clinton Lynch still has yet to practice this fall due to an unspecified injury. As kickoff looms closer, Lynch’s availability for Tennessee could be in jeopardy.

Speaking of Dedrick Mills, the now-former Yellow Jacket has found his next home. He has transferred to Garden City Community College in Kansas. Typically, a player in Mills’ position will transfer down to a JuCo, where they do not have to sit out, and after one season will transfer back up to an FBS team. In fact, another former Yellow Jacket, Meiko Dotson, transferred there following the 2016 football season. Garden City is something of a power house at the JuCo level, winning last season’s National Championship and ranking 3rd in the NJCAA preseason polls. Mills will have a good opportunity to straighten out whatever issues led to his dismissal and rejoin an FBS team to continue his football career. The Broncbusters have a long history of sending players back up to major college football including four-time Pro Bowler Corey Dillon, current NFL players Tyreek Hill and Phil Loadholt, and former Georgia CB and Auburn QB Nick Marshall (interestingly, other notable Garden City alumni include Clemson DC Brent Venables and Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox). I’m disappointed to see Mills go but wish him the best of luck and hope he can land on his feet.