Mountain-sleeved replica Utah football jerseys cause a stir on Twitter

A couple of days ago, this blog reported that Utah's football and men's basketball team would receive new Under Armour jerseys for the upcoming season, but that fans would have to wait until August to see them.

Fans couldn't wait that long.

An enterprising Ute fan with impressive Internet shopping chops discovered a pair of Utah replica football jerseys on Amazon.com and tweeted screen captures on Tuesday night.

The replicas — confirmed Wednesday morning by Director of Football Equipment Kelly Sharitt (by way of Associate Athletic Director Liz Abel) to be a "fairly accurate" depiction of what Utah will wear this season — most prominently feature craggy mountain peaks on the sleeves.

It would be an understatement to say the reaction to that design has been "mixed."

Overwhelmingly, fans on Twitter have panned the new unis, with one even threatening to skip a game if Utah dons its rocky roads. Others worried about what potential recruits would think. Only a few dared to suggest that the jerseys are something less than an abomination, or that what the players do in the jerseys will make them pleasing or displeasing to the eye.

Worth noting: By definition, replicas are not originals. Those will be in, the team hopes, for media headshots on Aug. 6. Abel said she'll try to provide "a more accurate-looking replica" of the game jerseys as soon as possible.

— Matthew Piper

mpiper@sltrib.com

Twitter: @matthew_piper