Tag: WeWantToPlay

College Football Key Questions: Can A Spring Football Season Happen?

In this unprecedented time for college sports, we’ll work on some of the key questions. Can a spring football season really work?

In this unprecedented time for college sports, we’ll work on some of the key questions. Can a spring football season really happen?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Can a spring football season in 2021 happen?

My first reaction was, “absolutely not.”

The logistics are a nightmare, there’s no real point, and the idea of playing in the spring seemed like nothing more than blather by the Big Ten and other leagues to cushion the blow of – let’s call it what it is – cancelling the 2020 fall football season.

But semantics do matter here. Instead of using the word cancel, postpone is more to the point, considering the idea will be for the spring of 2021 to serve as the 2020 fall campaign.

If there’s money to be recouped from a spring session, college football will find a way to play.

Can it really happen?

[jwplayer ty6hfzeT]

Jeff Brohm seems to think so

The Purdue head coach – along with all but killing the exact column I was doing – came up with a very detailed, very interesting idea on how to structurally play in the spring. He’s not alone, with Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, among others, claiming that it’s possible.

At the very least, it’s a jumping off point for a sport that wasn’t exactly proactive in its planning for what could happen if the virus didn’t go away in time to have a fall season.

The coaches are going to want this. A football coach without a football season is about as useful as a remote control without batteries. If there’s a shot to play football, coaches will sell it.

Oh yeah, that virus thing

If this all starts up in late January or early February, that means teams will need to be ready to start practicing for real in mid-December – that’s four months away from right now.

There’s not going to be a working vaccine available, but the real hope is for better, faster, and more reliable testing – which was the hope back in mid-March, too.

It’s essentially what the Pac-12 said in its guide as part of the rationale for halting fall sports, specifically football.

“Testing capacity needs to increase to allow for more frequent testing, performed closer to game time, and with more rapid turn-around time to prevent spread of infection and enhance the safety of all student-athletes, coaches, and staff involved, particularly in situations where physical distancing and mask wearing cannot be maintained. This will require access to significant capacity of point-of-care testing and rapid turn-around time, which is currently very limited.”

This is it. This is everything.

For all the planning, all the bickering, and all the different opinions across the various social media platforms, a spring football season in 2021 – and, not to get into this yet, but a 2021 fall campaign, too – isn’t going to happen at anything close to normal, if at all, without a way to be almost certain that everyone on the field is fine.

So let’s say that around December 10ish we have a solid set of national protocols that all the colleges and conferences are cool with.

NEXT: Eligibility, NFL Draft, recruiting

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Georgia football players take to Twitter to try and save CFB season

Following the postponement of the Big Ten and PAC-12 football seasons, Georgia football players took to Twitter to express their opinions.

Following the somber news of the Big Ten and PAC-12 postponing their fall sports due to COVID-19 safety concerns, a number of Georgia football players took to Twitter in an attempt to voice their opinions on playing this season.

Malik Herring, James Cook, Jamaree Salyer and Justin Shaffer were some of the Dawgs players who tweeted out the trending movement among athletes: #WeWantToPlay.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart supported his players stance and gave them retweets on their posts.

The 2020 college football season could be hard to salvage with two of the five Power Five conferences opting out of the season, but that isn’t stopping players from expressing themselves.

College Football 2020 Season: No Big Ten, Pac-12, What’s Really Going On?

The Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their fall seasons. So now what for them, and for the rest of college football?

The Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their fall seasons. So now what for them, and for the rest of college football?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

They’ve been among the wildest, craziest, and saddest few days in the history of college football – at least off the field.

Start with this – the entire sport didn’t shut down like many thought it might when the doom-and-gloom predictions started on Sunday night.

What’s really going on, and what’s going to happen going forward?

[jwplayer ty6hfzeT]

5. The Big Ten and Pac-12 hit the pause button

It wasn’t a total stunner that the two big conferences decided not to play their respective 2020 fall college football seasons, but it wasn’t quite supposed to happen like it did on Tuesday.

The Pac-12 was always on the verge of shutting things down.

From the outbreak of the virus in Arizona, to the concerns with a new wave in Los Angeles, to several schools throughout California choosing to operate remotely, it was always just a question of time before it was all going to be over.

The player demands and movement weren’t why the conference chose not to play in the fall of 2020, and that wasn’t likely a big factor, but the demands for change hit a major roadblock after this.

The league simply decided it couldn’t do it. From travel, to logistics, to the lack of adequate testing, the recommendation was that the Pac-12 not play a full contact sport like football this fall, and that was it.

It wasn’t so easy for the Big Ten, especially considering it announced the shutdown just before the news broke that Kamala Harris was going to be Joe Biden’s VP choice. The Pac-12 announced its news after.

News leaked out on Monday that the B1G was going to shut down, the pushback made it seem like there was still hope, and then, by early afternoon on Tuesday, it was all done.

The thought was that the league was going to take a step back and wait a few weeks by moving its schedule start from the first week of September to the last week like the other Power 5 conferences, but nope. The presidents decided to stop the fall season.

Both conferences join the MAC and Mountain West in the idea of playing in the spring – more time to figure out a consistent plan (in other words, better testing) – but the dust has to settle first.

Too many questions have to be answered, from eligibility, to the transfer potential, to whether or not Nebraska – who wants to break ranks and play – might come up with a schedule of its own.

And now …

NEXT: Can the Big Ten and Pac-12 really play in the spring?

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

With Big Ten postponing its season, could Justin Fields consider a return to UGA?

With the Big Ten and PAC-12 postponing their seasons, could we see Ohio State QB Justin Fields make a return to Georgia football?

[jwplayer hWTRmkgE-er0jUifI]

The Big Ten announced its decision to postpone all fall sports according to their official website. The Big Ten is the first Power Five conference to make this decision.

The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season, including all regular-season contests and Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just minutes after, the PAC-12 also made the decision to postpone its 2020 season.

Former Georgia quarterback Justin Fields, who transferred to Ohio State after his freshman season at UGA, has been a big advocate of letting the players play this season.

The Big Ten’s star quarterback will now have to wait until at least the spring to play football this year at Ohio State.

Fields expressed his distaste in the conference’s decision on Tuesday afternoon via Twitter.

With the SEC still set to have their season (for now), experts have already been speculating the potential of seeing Fields transfer back to UGA.  This is a long shot, but Georgia beat writer for Athens Banner-Herald Marc Weiszer reminded everyone that then OC James Coley and head coach Kirby Smart told Fields he would always have a sport at Georgia.

Fields is a Kennesaw, GA native and was likely entering the final year of his college career before heading to the NFL Draft.  If the SEC keeps its season alive, Georgia would most likely be the No.1 landing spot for Fields, should he transfer.

Fields had an incredible sophomore season at Ohio State, throwing for 3,273 yards, 41 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions.  He was a Heisman Trophy finalist and made it to the College Football Playoff, losing by six to the Clemson Tigers in the semifinals.

Georgia already has two transfer quarterbacks in Jamie Newman and J.T. Daniels, but the addition of a Heisman finalist definitely wouldn’t hurt.  There are no reports of Fields actually making the switch back to Georgia, just speculations.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey shares thoughts on 2020 college football season

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey shares his thoughts on the 2020 college football season on the Dan Patrick Show.

With COVID-19 threatening the fate of college football, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey took to the Dan Patrick Show Tuesday morning to share his thoughts on the SEC’s 2020 football season.

“We have a start date… I’d be encouraged by that. … We have a schedule… I’d be encouraged by that. … We’re still here today. On Sunday, if I read social media I would have thought (it was over),” Sankey said on the show.

Sankey was asked about his feelings in regards to how likely SEC football will be played in the fall.

“It is a roller coaster ride,” said Sankey. “Today is probably better. We have made decisions to avoid some of the time pressures that I sense others are feeling.”

With the Big Ten postponing all fall sports (including football), other conferences have now felt heavy pressure to follow suit.  Sankey explained how the SEC has been preparing for their season differently than other Power 5 conferences.

“We’ve not had our players in helmets and pads for full practices,” he said. “We’ve spread our pre-season preparation out. We have moved our kickoff back to allow universities to get back to kind of a normal fall semester order, and some time to have things settle out.”

On the matter of possibly adopting a non-SEC team into the SEC for the season, Sankey replied: “…that’s not quite practical.”

“I felt good on Friday, and then a little tumult over the weekend,” said Sankey on his outlook for the season. “We are going to keep working to see if we can provide opportunities for student-athletes to compete.”

“Every day we learn a little bit more. It is not simply going to be a guiding moment if another conference makes a decision, but a piece of information a lot this journey.”

Sankey said it could be possible, but is unlikely the SEC would play on their own in 2020.

“I don’t think that is the right direction really. Could we? Certainly … We could, if that were the circumstance, operate on our own. I am not sure that’s the wisest direction.”

There is a lot up in the air surrounding this decision, as more and more will unravel in the coming weeks.  From the looks of it, Sankey and the SEC leaders will do everything in their power to have football in 2020, but nothing is guaranteed.

SEC, Georgia still optimistic on playing football in 2020

The Southeastern Conference is still optimistic on playing football in 2020, following the news of the Big Ten suspending all fall sports.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Big Ten elected to cancel all fall sports in 2020, that including the college football season.

The Big Ten has voted to cancel the 2020 college football season in a historic move that stems from concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, multiple people with knowledge of the decision confirmed to the Free Press.

The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the decision. A formal announcement is expected to Tuesday, the sources said.

The presidents voted, 12-2, Sunday to end the fall sports in the conference.

ESPN college football insider Kirk Herbstreit cleared up reports coming out Monday by saying the conference will be delaying the season start, not cancelling it completely.

With news of a Power 5 conference halting the start of the 2020 season, it has felt as though the remaining four (SEC, ACC, PAC-12, Big 12) would soon follow.  Now, that might not be the case.

SEC leaders, who like the Big Ten leaders also met over a digital conference call on Monday, seemed to have a more positive outlook on the season starting up.

Commissioner of the SEC, Greg Sankey, released an optimistic statement via Twitter on Monday saying: “Can we play? I don’t know. We haven’t stopped trying.”

“I’ll just say I think Greg Sankey’s comment is spot on,” Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said Monday. “His statement says it all, and I certainly stand by it. It summarizes where we all stand.”

Georgia athletic employees made their return to the offices this Monday, still set for the delayed 10-game start date of September 26th.  Reports seem as though the ACC and SEC will work together in doing everything in their power to have a season in 2020.  A number of the two conferences biggest stars, including Clemson’s quarterback Trevor Lawrence, took to their platforms saying they want to play.

Lawrence hit on the fact that America is already not following COVID-19 guidelines, as well as many student athletes “coming from situations that are not good for them/their future and having to go back to that.”

“…Medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract COVID-19.” said Lawrence. “…Football is a safe haven for so many people.”

The University of Georgia is set to return to in-person instruction starting August 20th.  Nothing is set in stone for the remaining Power 5 conferences, but there will be a lot of news released in the upcoming weeks regarding the fate of the 2020 college football season.

College Football Conferences: Who Will Play In 2020, Who Won’t? The Best Guess Is …

After a crazy few days for college football, what’s the status of each of the conferences. Who’ll play this season, and who won’t?

After a crazy few days for college football, what’s the status of each of the conferences. Who’ll play this season, and who won’t?

So, you want to know whether or not your college football conference is playing this fall?

Get in line. This thing is changing by the tweet after the world went bonkers over the last 72 hours.

On Saturday morning the MAC was done, on Sunday evening the entire season was supposedly going to be shut down, and on Monday morning the Dan Patrick Show was telling everyone the Big Ten and Pac-12 were tapping out.

And then everyone got mad.

[jwplayer ty6hfzeT]

Trevor Lawrence let the world to know that college football players want to play college football, college football coaches let the world know that they like college football, and as predictable as Ohio State over Michigan in late November, the president took a sledgehammer to a delicately nuanced situation and politicized it.

The Big Ten pumped the brakes, the rest of the conferences wanted nothing to do with the pounding the B1G was taking, and now there’s supposedly still a chance of a fall football season in some form.

The talk ranged from spring ball in 2021 – total silliness thrown out there to cushion the blow of no 2020 season – to the utter nonsense of Ohio State and Nebraska chirping about finding other places to play. (You’re out of your freaking mind if you think the Big Ten will let the Buckeyes or Huskers play one down in any other league. Two words: TV contracts. Non-conference games, though …)

On a far more serious note, college football fans are about to become heart experts as they learn about the nightmare of a possible COVID-19 side effect called myocarditis.

So now what?

This will be updated on the fly as much as possible, but for now, here’s the best guess on the go-no-go launch status of each conference. All the percentage guesses are based on their apparent respective desires to play or not play if allowed the choice.

ACC

It’s been strangely silent, other than the movement kicked off by Trevor Lawrence.

This is one of the more interesting situations because of the Notre Dame factor. The league has a unique opportunity to have the Irish all to itself for a season, and as long as they’re happy, the league will be happy.

There might be a concern about the status of the other four Power Five conferences, but according to Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, the ACC will “absolutely” play in 2020.

Best Guess Status For 2020: 80% will play

American Athletic Conference

The AAC has the same problem the other Group of Five conferences are dealing with: they’re losing their key revenue-making non-conference dates.

After announcing on August 5th a plan to play eight conference games, the news went back-and-forth throughout Monday. It’s still not a sure thing, but …

Best Guess Status For 2020: 70% will play

Big Ten

The Detroit Free Press went with the story on Monday morning that the Big Ten season was going to be cancelled, but that was before the final be-all-end-all-or-not vote happened.

The Big Ten presidents reportedly were 12-2 – Nebraska and Iowa the outliers – to cancel.

The pushback was swift and strong, with Ohio State, Michigan, and Nebraska the most vocal, at least among fans, coaches and players.

There’s a meeting at 10:30 am ET to make a decision on what to do next.

From all the rumors, news, and opinions flying around, it seems like 1) the medical evaluators don’t think the Big Ten can pull this off, which means 2) the presidents don’t think they can pull this off, which means either 3) the league has a PR disaster coming by cancelling the 2020 season, or 4) the presidents will look like they caved to the pressure of football if they decide to go forward with a campaign.

Oh yeah, and commissioner Kevin Warren is talking about playing in the spring. February football in Minneapolis and East Lansing – yippee.

One key note. The Big Ten is currently scheduled to start its season in early September. while others  are expected to start several weeks later. So …

Best Guess Status For 2020: 70% cancel, 30% delay, with a lean towards kicking the can down the road by suggesting a late September start.

NEXT: Big 12, Conference USA, Independents, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC, Sun Belt

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

LOOK: Alabama football players tweet ‘#WeWantToPlay’

Alabama football players tweet about the #WeWantToPlay movement in support of playing in the 2020 college football season.

The #WeWantToPlay movement has gone viral among college football players, as the threat of a cancelled 2020 season lingers throughout tweets and headlines of high profile journalists, media personalities and news outlets.

Alabama players are now taking a stand on social media by using the hashtag. While there has not been any news surrounding the SEC’s 2020 plans, the athletes stand united.

Here’s what members of the Crimson Tide had to say:

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who is not often on social media, tweeted the hashtag.

Najee, who was involved in the creation of the movement, also included a picture with a list of demands by the student athletes.

Tight end Miller Forristall argues that the Alabama football facility will be the safest place for the players when the school year begins.

Offensive lineman Landon Dickerson is in his final year of eligibility and decides to point out potential hypocrisy in the decision-making process.

Alabama’s sophomore kicker Will Reichard suffered a hip injury that hindered his freshman year, after nursing it back to health and training in the offseason, he fears it may all go to waste.

Defensive back Brandon Turnage makes sure his voice is heard.

These are just a few players at Alabama that made their voices heard on social media.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on the state of the 2020 college football season and what plans are made by the SEC or the University of Alabama.

Najee Harris helped orchestrate ‘#WeWantToPlay’ movement

Alabama senior running back Najee Harris was a part of a 15 player group call the help in the creation of the ‘#WeWantToPlay’ movement.

The No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the United States last night was ‘#WeWantToPlay,’ a movement led by college football players from various programs, conferences and divisions.

The movement is driven by recent rumors that claim Power 5 conferences may look to cancel the 2020 college football season, and all fall sports, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

The hashtag was spearheaded by Clemson’s star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, a player who is likely set to be an early draftee in 2021, but still wants to play.

In a report by The State, Lawrence got the ball rolling, but it took 14 other players to put together a short list of demands and begin spreading the hashtag like wildfire. The list is asking for conferences and the NCAA to protect the players on various levels and ensure the players’ voices continue to be heard through a players association.

The report names some players that were involved on the call, one of which being Alabama’s senior running back, Najee Harris.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on the movement and the state of the 2020 college football season as more information becomes available.

Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler joins in on college football players union movement

Hello and welcome to the player empowerment days of college football. Players took to Twitter Sunday night in hopes of a players union.

Hello and welcome to the player empowerment days of college football.

Players of the sport took to Twitter late Sunday night to promote two things: unity and the want to play football in 2020.

It started with the two most prominent players in college football with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields posting a graphic with #WeAreUnited and #WeWantToPlay. The phrases mimicked what the Pac-12 United movement was doing a week ago with demands on revenue sharing, mandated health and safety guidelines and guarantee eligibility and scholarships this year.

The players of the power-five have presented something similar with a twist: A College Football Players Association. Or a college football player union, to be exact.

Oklahoma presumed starting quarterback Spencer Rattler jumped on board with the movement alongside some of the other top, young players in the sport.

Rattler has played in two games so far for Oklahoma, with each of those coming in mop up duty against South Dakota and LSU. He, though, has a social media following that’s grown to over 460,000 followers on Instagram and 80,000 followers on Twitter.

The redshirt freshman’s voice holds weight, and he is now in on the unionization of college football. The problem remains that these players are not employees and it will be a slippery slope to get to where they want, but this a major first step to players getting representation within their sport.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]