Sophomore running back Duane Bennett has yet to play a game -- or even practice -- in the Gophers' new football uniforms, but he insists he feels faster and able to break more tackles.

If only it were that easy.

New clothes make a person feel better, and the Gophers acted the part Wednesday when coach Tim Brewster and a group of his players debuted their new duds in a news conference/fashion show that included more talk about color schemes than Xs and Os.

School officials and Nike designers brainstormed for six months and came up with six different uniform combinations that feature a number of changes in design and material, including "Minnesota" emblazoned across the chest, a darker shade of maroon and the return of white pants for the first time since 1967.

"It's a clean, classic look," Brewster said. "It's about speed, it's about sleek, and it's about pride."

The players also gave the uniforms two thumbs up.

"They're a lot lighter," quarterback Adam Weber said. "You feel like you're not really wearing a uniform at all. These uniforms have a way of making you feel like you're playing football out in the backyard."

Besides being lighter, head equipment manager Darin Kerns said the uniforms have better ventilation and incorporate a new fabric that reduces "grab points" -- areas that opponents can grab and hold.

That last point sounded good to Bennett.

"It gives you that extra edge to think, 'OK, maybe this play I'll break four or five tackles instead of two or three,'" he said.

This is Minnesota's first major uniform change in football since 1999. Brewster, who had wanted to change them before last season, said he had a general idea of how he wanted the uniforms to look.

Brewster said he desired a modern but classic look that would be attractive to recruits.

He also insisted on placing "Minnesota" on the chest, which was removed after the 1993 season.

"That was non-negotiable," Kerns said.

The No. 1 home uniform will be maroon jerseys with gold pants; the No. 1 road combination will be white jerseys with gold pants. Brewster and several players picked the white-on-white combination as their personal favorite.

"This is the look that has absolutely wowed all our kids and recruits," Brewster said.

The Gophers didn't unveil an all-gold uniform, but Brewster said the team might wear those on special occasions.

"Our feeling on these uniforms is, we didn't do too much," Brewster said. "I like a clean, classy look, and I think that's what these uniforms are."

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