The NCAA announced their ruling for all spring sports about a month ago, and many fans have started to wonder what this means for the football season.
Currently there are no plans to move the start of the college football season. However, there is still no certainty that the season will be played on time, if at all. If the start of the season were to be pushed back, there is a possibility of it occurring in the spring.
Sam Houston Bearkats head coach K.C. Keeler has been trying his best to do everything he can with all the uncertainty in play.
“We were really aggressive,” Keeler said in an interview with The Huntsville Item. “As soon as we found out the severity of this, we shut things down immediately. No voluntary workouts, no open hours in the gym.”
If the offseason had not been disrupted, this would be around the time that spring football was wrapping up. The team would have a short break then be back at the school to get ready for summer conditioning and the pre-season.
Instead, spring football, alongside summer one and two workouts, have all been canceled. Even with all this in mind, Keeler is more worried about his players well-being.
“The big thing we keep reminding [the players] is be smart and be safe,” Keeler told The Huntsville Item. “We are going to get through this together. Let’s not worry about football right now, and let’s try and get some normalcy back in our life.”
Keeler also mentioned that he wants his team to continue to do what they can at home to stay in shape, but he mainly wants them to focus on school and make sure everyone finishes the semester strong.
Although they finished fourth in the conference last season, SHSU had the number one ranked defense in the Southland Conference. Some of the players to thank for this are senior defensive lineman Trace Mascorro, senior defensive backs Tristin and Zyon McCollum and senior defensive lineman Joe Wallace.
Wallace really shined last year after transferring from Texas Tech University, starting in every game last season and making the All-Southland second team. It helped that he racked up four sacks and was second in the SLC with three forced fumbles.
Along with the number one ranked defense, the offense looks poised to have one of their best seasons in a while.
The quarterback position finally looks to be solidified by redshirt-junior Eric Schmid after redshirt-junior Ty Brock announced his transfer to Central Michigan University.
He will have a high-speed offense with sophomore receivers Chandler Harvin and Ife Adeyi who both look to breakout in their second year with the program. These receivers will be complimented by a strong running game consisting of redshirt-sophomore Alex Williams and junior Donovan Williams.
Even with all this security about the team, right now the biggest problem to deal with is being ready to get back to work.
“The virus is going to determine our timetable,” Keeler said in an interview with The Huntsville Item. “Let’s not worry about a timetable.”
Keeler is very aware of the current situation and is continuing to make sure not to be too hasty. The last thing that the team wants is for them to begin workouts and possibly the season for it all to be thrown away.
With all the uncertainty of everything going on, the program hopes to be able to start on time and play a full season to try and get back to some kind of normalcy heading into the fall semester.
