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We're Hurting More Than Most According to This

2,304 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Grizz Air
Aliceinbubbleland
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/college/article/Cancellation-of-spring-football-might-hurt-Texas-15154908.php

Quote:

The outright cancellation of practices, coupled with a campus-wide suspension of activities no strength and conditioning work, no athletic training room availability, no team functions could have a more profound effect on Texas than any Big 12 school outside of Baylor, which replaced coach Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers) with LSU's Dave Aranda.
BellCountyBear
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Well, that's what Ewetee is hoping.
bearpreacher
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You'll have to copy and paste, won't let you read it without a subscription
Forest Bueller_bf
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You can always work S&C on your own, but missing football drills will make for an interesting fall.

If there is a fall schedule. Work as usual will be ongoing, but crowds of 50,000+ when the virus will likely ramp up again next fall, interesting to see if there is a full season.
Aliceinbubbleland
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AUSTIN The rust-tinged metal gate that serves as an entryway to Frank Denius Fields is locked. No one knows when it will open again.

There's no traffic on adjacent Red River Street. No students striding to classes. No football players. Just birds singing and construction sounds ringing from nearby Royal-Memorial Stadium. Tuesday was supposed to mark the start of Texas spring football. The annual Orange-White spring scrimmage was scheduled for April 25. That's all on hold for now, one small ripple from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Texas is still awaiting a formal directive from the Big 12, which canceled all spring and winter competition and suspended athletic activities through at least Sunday. The conference's 10 athletic directors have been discussing potential strategies and are planning to make, at the end of the month, an announcement that will address spring football, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.

Some schools have made moves even without a conference or NCAA mandate.

Last week, Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione announced the Sooners' spring game, scheduled for April 18, would be postponed and potentially canceled. Texas Tech on Monday canceled its spring game and a "Fan Fest" event that were scheduled for April 10 and April 4, respectively. Texas, along with the rest of the Big 12, is expected to follow a similar path.

"The COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis changed all of that, leaving a huge void and altering the course of the lives of all of us, including our student-athletes, coaches and staff," Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte wrote last Tuesday in his weekly newsletter. "The disappointment and heartbreak we feel for all of them is immense, but these are unprecedented times."

These 15 offseason practices are vital for every program. But this was shaping up to be the most consequential spring of coach Tom Herman's tenure.

He purposely delayed the start of spring ball in order to formulate strategies and engender strong relationships with seven new coaches on staff. The Longhorns' Alamo Bowl rout of No. 11 Utah partially obscured a disappointing regular season, but Herman handpicked two new coordinators and five new position coaches because a 7-5 regular season doesn't cut it at Texas.

The suspension of physical activities won't restrict coaches and players from communicating. Strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight will still be able to craft workouts and training regimens. There are all sorts of workarounds, but nothing comparable to getting out on the field or pushing each other in an athletic facility with all manner of equipment.

The outright cancellation of practices, coupled with a campus-wide suspension of activities no strength and conditioning work, no athletic training room availability, no team functions could have a more profound effect on Texas than any Big 12 school outside of Baylor, which replaced coach Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers) with LSU's Dave Aranda.

This would have been senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger's first and only offseason with new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich. The restrictive measures will limit the former Ohio State and Oklahoma State quarterback guru's hands-on time with the Longhorns' record-setting signal-caller.

"Sam's a hell of a football player," Yurcich said in February. "He's a big part of why I chose this position. And the most significant trait is his leadership ability, his ability to grab the guys' attention, get them focused.
"And if you're (early enrollee quarterback) Hudson Card, you're seeing how it's done. It's got such an enormous effect on the team when you have that leadership from Sam."

This time apart could also have an effect on how well other players will take to newly installed offensive and defensive schemes and how they respond to their new coaches. The eight early enrollees won't get the head start they hoped for. Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chris Ash and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai won't get to work in close proximity with UT's young, talented group of defensive backs. And the defense as a whole will have less on-field time to practice and adjust to Ash's four-down scheme.

"I'm excited about getting started with our players," Ash said in February. "It's been a lot of fun to watch these guys. I can't wait to get a chance to get our hands on 'em and work with 'em." No one can be certain when that chance will come. Football, like the rest of the world, is on hold for the foreseeable future.

"There are unprecedented and trying times we're in," Herman said last week in a video. "We've been handed a challenge that none of us expected. We're dealing with great uncertainty and an opponent we all must defeat.
"I can't wait for the time when we're back together, back on the playing field hearing the prideful chants of Texas Fight. That day will come again."

Grizz Air
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I really don't think anyone is going to be going to school (at least not on campus), much less playing football, in 2020.
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