Tag: covid 19 college football

Texas Tech limits home games to 25% capacity, will require face coverings. Will Georgia follow?

Texas Tech becomes the 4th school to reportedly plan to limit stadium capacity. Could UGA eventually release a similar plan for Sanford?

Per college football insider Brett McMurphy, Texas Tech University will limit its football stadium’s capacity to maximum of 25%, as well as institute a face covering requirement to both fans and staff at all home football games.

Texas, Ohio State and LSU have all reportedly planned to limit the capacity of their iconic football stadiums due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, now Texas Tech follows suit.

Sad thoughts, of course, to Ohio State with the Big Ten’s plan to postpone until spring.

But the real question is, with four major Power Five school’s already releasing a plan to limit stadium capacity – how long before more SEC schools, or specifically the University of Georgia follows with a similar plan?

UGA plans to have face-to-face classes starting Aug 20 – until late November when classes move online – and in early July, UGA listed a limited capacity ‘option‘ in a plan release by a UGA athletics group: Plans for a Phased Return to Full Operations.

Things said, I could definitely see Georgia doing something with Stanford Stadium this year that is similar to the schools who have college towns similar to Athens.

Athens is definitely one of those historic places at risk with so many small business in one place and, without students or fans, I suspect it wouldn’t be the city DawgNation knows and loves before long.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on college football: “I want to see it played”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took to Twitter to give his statement on the current college football situation. Read his quotes here

With the Big Ten and Pac-12 electing to postpone their respective seasons to the spring of 2021, the SEC, ACC and Big 12 conferences are still scrambling to find a way to play football this fall.

A day after President Donald Trump said it would be a “tragic mistake” not to play football this fall, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to give his statement on the prospect of college football in Georgia.

Kemp wrote:

“Across the South, college football is a sacred tradition, and I want to see it played this year if we can ensure the safety of players, coaches and staff.”

Kemp retweeted SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s Tuesday tweet that came after the Big 10 and Pac-12’s postponement decision. Sankey said he “remains comfortable”, with the SEC’s approach to playing football during  the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Although the league continues to deliberate how the season can go on, SEC practices are scheduled to begin Monday and, as of now, kickoff is slated for Sept. 26.

 

 

AD McGarity ‘planning for a full house’ for 2020 UGA football games

Georgia AD Greg McGarity went on 92.9 The Game’s morning show and discussed allowing fans into UGA football games this fall.

University of Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity went on 92.9 The Game’s morning show on Tuesday and discussed allowing fans into football games this fall.

Per 92.9 The Game’s Mike Conti

“We’re planning for a full house. Is that realistic? Time will tell,” McGarity said. “We have several internal documents ready to activate, but we don’t want to go public, especially in May.”

McGarity spoke just a few days after the SEC’s vote which allowed athletes to use on-campus facilities starting June 8, which followed the NCAA Division 1 Council’s decision last week to lift its restriction on workouts starting June 1.

It looks as if we are on the road to a 2020 college football season and McGarity thinks that, not only will there be football, there will be fans in attendance as well.

But, as he said, is that realistic?

From what we know about COVID-19 and the restrictions on crowds that are in place, it may be too early to get our hopes up.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said:

“For us to have our football season our universities have to re-engage in a normal operating pattern.”

Once universities begin to fully-reopen is when we should find out if there is a realistic possibility for fans to be in attendance at college football games this fall.

Until then, let’s enjoy the fact that athletes are allowed back on campuses and it looks like football, with or without fans, will at least be played.

A look at Georgia’s 2020 wide receiver room

A look at the Georgia football 2020 wider receiver room headlined by star George Pickens.

The 2020 college football season is fast approaching and players will be allowed back on campus for summer workouts starting June 8.

That said, let’s take a look at the Georgia wide receivers, perhaps the most exciting position to watch for the Bulldogs in 2020.

This is not a depth chart projection, but a look at who we project to see the most snaps.

1. George Pickens (So.)

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pickens (6-3, 190), from Hoover, Alabama, is one of the best returning receiver in college football and will be heavily relied upon by new Wake Forest transfer QB Jamie Newman and for good reason. As a freshman in 2019, Pickens caught 49 passes for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns, which earned him Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team honors.

2. Demetris Robertson (Sr.)

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Robertson, (6-0, 190) from Savannah, Georgia, is a transfer from the University of California in 2018 and hasn’t been able to find much a rhythm as a Bulldog. However, we know he has talent and even received Freshman All-American honors in his time with Cal, so look for his speed on the inside to be a huge factor for the Bulldogs in 2020.

3. Dominick Blaylock (So.)

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Assuming Blaylock (6-1, 195) returns from an ACL tear in 2019, he will be competing for the starting slot-receiver position with Robertson. Before his injury, Blaylock, from Marietta, Georgia, was having a solid freshman season, catching 18 passes for 310 yards and 5 touchdowns in 12 games. Most notably, Blaylock averaged over 17 yards per reception and contributed to special teams as punt/kick returner.

4. Matt Landers (Junior)

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Landers (6-5, 200), from St. Petersburg, Florida, should see time on the outside opposite George Pickens. Especially in goal line situations where his length creates match-up problems with virtually anyone who covers him. That being said, Landers will have to show route-running and catching improvement if he wants to contribute. His three catches versus Baylor in the Sugar Bowl shows he is headed in the right direction.

5. Kearis Jackson (RFr.)

 (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Jackson (6-0, 200,) from Fort Valley, Georgia, started the Bulldogs’ first game at Vanderbilt last season and caught two passes for 31 yards until exiting early with a hand injury that derailed the rest of his 2019 season. Georgia coaches were confident enough to tab Jackson as a starter early on, so, assuming his hand injury is no longer a factor, he should be competing for the slot position with Robertson and Blaylock this summer.

NEXT: Who else could we expect to catch some passes this year?

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Kirby Smart talks 2020 CFB season, possibility of empty stadiums due to coronavirus

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talks the 2020 college football season and the possibility of playing in empty stadiums due to coronavirus.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, whether or not we will have a 2020 college football season is a mystery right now.

Different coaches and analysts have given their opinions on the matter.

Kirk Herbstreit said he’d be shocked if we had a season. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney seems completely unbothered by what’s going on and is fully preparing to play in 2020.

South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp has a different outlook on things.

On SiriusXM with Peter Burns and Chris Doering, Muschamp pointed to July 13th as an ideal date to get these players back to campus and into shape.

Here’s Muschamp’s full quote:

“I looked last night, coach (Ray) Tanner and I were just talking – if we are able to come back, which is a huge if – July 13 would probably be a decent date,” Muschamp said. “You’ve got four weeks and you’re into August and you don’t open until September 5 and you’ve got four weeks of practice, so I think those are just some things we just threw around, just trying to figure out.

“When it’s safe to do those things, great. If it’s not, then we’ll continue to do what they’re doing right now.”

As for Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart, he’s been asked the same question on a number of occasions. However, when answering the questions from beat writers and Paul Finebaum, he gave a classic Kirby answer — not too much info, but also not much info.

Then again, how much can Kirby really tell us? He does not know when this thing is ending, nor will he know how long it’ll take for people to be comfortable leaving their homes again. There’s only so much he can say.

He opened up a little bit more about it when remotely interviewed by the SEC Network’s Laura Rutledge the other day. Rutledge asked Smart what his thoughts were on Muschamp’s comment.

Remember, Smart and Muschamp go way back and have been friends for 20 years.

“I would argue that’s speculative,” Smart said of Muschamp’s comments. “I understand Will and I have shared and talked ideas as well as most of the SEC coaches. We’re kind of in that same fraternity together and we all talk.”

“Everybody has their opinions, but ultimately I don’t know as coaches if our opinion will ever come near outweighing our athletic trainers and the medical staff and safety and well-being of the players. I certainly think that our players are young, they’re very resilient, they can get ready in a quick turnaround.”

“A lot of us as coaches got to be smart about what that turnaround may be. Whether that’s July 13, whether that’s in August, there’s a lot of football season’s been played where guys didn’t get time leading in to prepare maybe as much as they have. As long as it’s equal then we’re all going to be on the same footing. We’ve got to get by with what they give us.”

Recently on the Finebaum Show, Smart said that in the meantime, we need to practice social distancing and follow the guidelines from the CDC. If we do that, Smart said everything else will take care of itself.

There’s also the possibility of playing the 2020 college football season in empty stadiums.

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We’ve voiced our opinions on that matter, and Smart seemed to have a similar stance. It’s just not college football without the fans.

“I think that’s tough,” Smart said. “I think it’s really tough. If it happened as a one-off or as a one-time special scenario, which we saw happen a little bit early on in basketball and we thought it might be that way. But to look at that as a long-term or even season answer, I just think that’s tough. Not that we play just for the fans, but we certainly are there to entertain. It certainly affects the kids and the performance. Like you mention, if the safety of the fans is at risk, we’re going to feel the same way about the players.”

Watch: Georgia S&C coordinator Scott Sinclair’s creative quarantine workouts

Scott Sinclair acknowledges that the responsible move is to stay at home and get creative with your regular workout routine.

Whether or not your gym is closed due to public health concerns, Scott Sinclair acknowledges that the responsible move is to stay at home and get creative with your regular workout routine. This week, Georgia football’s director of strength and conditioning took to twitter to demonstrate.

Don’t have dumbbells at home? No problem. Use a jug of water or laundry detergent. Get those shoulder presses in.

Need to do four sets of ten step-ups or calf raises? Grab a sturdy, flat seated wooden chair.

My personal favorite: an exercise he calls “how much can you carry at the grocery store?” Sinclair proceeds to pick up a jug of water and bag of oranges and recommends at least 100 squats.

Others include using a four-fold ladder as a squat rack:

In another, he simply loads his wheelbarrow with items from his garage, runs uphill, goes down hill, rinses, repeats:

This is what made me keep up with these videos in the first place. If you haven’t seen it already, the soup can shoulder raise:

And perhaps the most elaborate post, he outlines a game involving a deck of playing cards, workouts assigned to each card, and an imaginary jump rope:

Sinclair implores us to attack the day even when we’re stuck at home. Based upon the work he’s doing at home, the days he attacks have to be waving white flags by now.