ARLINGTON, Texas — After seeing Nike unveil its newest football cleats and college uniforms, Dwayne Bowe needed only one word to describe his reaction.
“Fly,” the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver said.
Bowe went on to joke that if he had the new Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon cleats when he played at LSU, “I would have been 10 times better. But I’m happy they’re coming out now during the peak of my NFL career.”
Nike showed off the cleats and Pro Combat uniforms Tuesday at Cowboys Stadium with Bowe and a handful of other NFL players on hand. Oregon, Texas Christian, Boise State and Florida will be the first schools to don the new uniforms in their upcoming bowl games.
Nike designer Todd Van Horne said he consulted with Ducks coach Chip Kelly when he designed the uniform.
“Chip Kelly wants to be the fastest team in the country, so we designed the uniforms so that they will actually look like a blur on the field,” Van Horne said. “It’s all about speed at Oregon.”
The uniforms were of particular interest to former Southern Cal linebacker Clay Matthews. His brother — Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews — will face Auburn for the national championship Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.
“SC is still near and dear to our family, but we’re all Oregon Ducks right now,” he said.
