Can design help correct for butterfingered receivers who keep fumbling the pigskin? The Tennessee Athletics is hoping so. As part of a new overhaul to the University of Tennessee's uniforms and sports brands, Nike has put a little target on the gloves of Volunteer football players, made up of the team's logo. There may as well be a little sign pointing right towards it: "put the ball here."
It's a small but nice touch as part of a larger rebrand that sees the University of Tennessee get a new universal 'Power T' logo for all of its various sports teams. It's all really solid and really classy branding work that helps consolidate the hot mess of Volunteer Athletics' branding.
But we especially like the gloves, even if they're a bit silly and assume perfect catching form. It's just a great little design detail. It's certainly not the first time we've seen a target on football receiver gloves—Under Armour does something similar with a skull logo on its Alter Ego Punisher gloves, and the Chicago Bears have two 'C' targets on its receiver gloves—but usually, it's a lot more overstated than this. It's a great example of how a logo can be used productively for something besides branding or aesthetics.
You can read more about the University of Tennessee's rebrand here.