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It seems that mountains are being moved to accommodate the Big Ten resuming football as early as October, potentially.
Earlier this week, Dan Patrick reported that the league was eyeing a possible return to action on Oct. 10, assuming that safety protocols and testing meet the conference’s criteria. And, according to several outlets, there appears to be a re-vote on the horizon come Friday, Sept. 4 for the presidents and chancellors in the Big Ten, despite commissioner Kevin Warren stating weeks ago that a fall season would not be revisited.
As aggregated by Outkick the Coverage:
1) Dave Biddle of Bucknuts, the 247 site for Ohio State (subscription required and recommended), first reported that the Big Ten’s presidents and chancellors have “tentatively” agreed to revote on either Friday or Saturday.
2) Kevin Noon of Buckeye Grove, the Rivals site for Ohio State (subscription required and recommended), confirmed the Bucknuts report, adding: “There is no guarantee as to how this vote will go but it is thought that a vote to resume the season would mean a mid-October start, potentially October 10th.”
3) Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline, the Rivals site for Nebraska (subscription required and recommended), added the following: “A behind the scenes vote count is being taken, and if there is enough support to bring it to a vote, it will happen. If they know they won’t get the 9 votes from the Presidents/Chancellors on Friday there won’t be a revote. So if a vote does happen this week, it means they already know they have the support to overturn this. Stay tuned. If that happens, camp could open as soon as Saturday. It sounds like there are a few teams that just don’t want to play. So you could have three or four teams sit it out and not play if the vote gets overturned.”
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While Michigan isn’t quite getting its hopes up that the team will return to action next month, according to redshirt sophomore left tackle Ryan Hayes, Jim Harbaugh did prepare the team for such a possibility.
“Yesterday before practice, Coach Harbaugh did say we could possibly play in October, just to give us a little motivation,” Hayes said. “Just keep practicing hard and we’re gonna be prepared. We have mentioned October, but nothing’s for sure.
“If we could play as soon as possible, I’m in. We haven’t really stopped practicing, we feel really prepared and we’re ready to go.”
The Wolverines have continued practicing throughout, with eyes on holding a team-specific combine at The Big House on Oct. 24 should the season not resume as currently planned. With 12 hours per week allowed, Hayes believes that the maize and blue will be ready to go if the original call to postpone the season to spring or winter is reversed.
“It’s been a little different — when I was a freshman, that spring ball was really important for me,” Hayes said. “I made a lot of strides back then. So it’s been a little different.
“But we’re practicing without pads, so it’s been really nice because we can start working on our footwork and hands really well. Once we do put the pads on we will definitely have the technique down, so that’s been one positive about it.”
The revamped schedule, which was released six days before the conference voted to postpone the season, would have seen Michigan hosting Purdue this upcoming Saturday at The Big House. Instead, however, parents of the players are hosting a protest for fellow parents, players and fans in the wake of the conference’s decision.
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