Although the NFL released a set of directives in preparation for players’ return to team facilities, the league and the NFLPA still have work to do before players report to training camp. Meanwhile, college football may have taken a step forward Thursday night.
The NCAA Football Oversight Committee announced a recommendation for coaches to begin formally working with players by July 13, Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com reports. This would precede the four-week camps that come before college football seasons commence.
Thamel notes the plan still needs approval by the NCAA Division I Council, which will meet on June 17 and vote on the proposal.
College football has more hurdles to negotiate before its season becomes a certainty. Several conferences factor into this equation, and it is not yet known if students will be on campus by the time college football season would normally begin. But the athletes who drive the NCAA’s biggest revenue-generating sport will be the guinea pigs as schools prepare efforts to play football amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The July 13 date would open up film study and strength workouts. Following that two-week period, programs would are cleared to begin 20-hour weeks with football players July 24 — in an effort for an OTAs-style pre-camp period, Thamel adds. August 7 serves as the training camp target date.
Certain schools took advantage of the NCAA’s green light to have players return on June 1. This has not been a hiccup-free process. At least five Alabama players tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Measuring a period that ended Wednesday, 14 states — including football hotbeds California, Florida and Texas — just hit their highest seven-day average for COVID-19 cases. Nevertheless, the NCAA will proceed with a college football summer blueprint.
After rumors of a postponement until the spring or a full-on cancellation swirled in the months since the virus surfaced, Thursday’s news certainly represents a notable development as the NFL prepares to formulate its plan.
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