UniformSZN: A&M's Matt Watson discusses the Aggies' new threads

Key notes from Matt Watson interview

• It's been about a two-year process to get to yesterday's uniform release. Going into the 2018 season, we had that 1998 throwback uniform ready to go for that Kentucky game, which was a big win in coach Fisher's first year. That look, at least for myself, really is from a fun era of A&M football, going back to when Jackie helped put us on the map. I think that it's a classic A&M look and signals the culture of the program under coach Fisher, which is a back to basics, back to football mentality. Even Coach Sumlin used to talk to us about how the alternate uniforms were getting a little bit out of hand. This is a great classic look that speaks to where the program wants to go: playing some hardnosed football.
   
• They call it "sports marketing," and there has to be a hook. Part of the creative side with Adidas is needing to tell a story, so the barbwire accents of the numbers are their way of infusing some Texas culture into the uniforms. It was something they wanted to put into the release. It's a unique number font that they came up for us with this project.
   
• The matte helmet look was a trend. When we went to the matte, those were an up and coming trend. It matched the color of the jersey at the time. This jersey is a much darker maroon than what we've had recently. It's hard to grasp that in the picture. So the high gloss makes the helmet look darker, but it also a nod back to what we wore in the 90s. This helmet is much darker and looks like the color the Aggies wore back in the 60s and 70s during Edd Hargett's day.
   
• Coach Fisher was open to the uniform change. We had the previous jersey for eight years, and we've had a regime change. A lot of times, these things can become a fashion show. Fashion is shortlived, but style is timeless. That's what we're going for here. It's not flashy. We're back to hardnosed football with a fullback and tight ends. This jersey is perfect for our return to a basic style.
   
• The road uniforms are essentially the reverse of the home jerseys we released yesterday. Maroon pants are still an option; the release says that. It's up to coach Fisher's discretion when we use what and when, but that's all in the full kit.
   
• A lot of people like to point out that LSU has a classic uniform. A&M kind of has our hands tied because we only have two colors, and one of them is white. A lot of those other schools can mix in three colors. There is a time and place to mix in a color that isn't in the school colors, and you'll see Ohio State sometimes mix in a black jersey.
   
• If you had to hold me down, I'd narrow it down to two. The black uniform we rolled out at Mississippi State was awesome. That was a fun project. There was literally only five of us on campus that knew that existed before the Thursday of the game. Other than that, the 1939 uniform was fun. That was one that I had wanted to do for a really long time.
   
• The black shoes are straight-up old school. Hopefully, some opponents will be sleeping on our guys, not thinking they're very fast before they blow right by them.