Penn State head coach James Franklin prepares for uncertain future when football returns
The ongoing coronavirus has the state of the 2020 college football season in limbo, as players and coaches wait for word about when or if they’ll be able to return to the field. While many different scenarios have been thrown around, it’s impossible to plan for an exact time frame for when the season might begin.
But figuring out how to manage logistics once given the OK to return might be even more difficult.
Penn State head coach James Franklin said Wednesday afternoon he doesn’t want the season to return until it’s safe for his players and other personnel involved with the program.
If other coaches across the country feels the same way, programs are unlikely to return at the same time, with different areas across the country seeing worse conditions from the pandemic at different times. That could lead to a staggered schedule for teams, or even a start to the season without all teams involved.
Franklin believes that’s not only possible, but a likely outcome given the current state of the country and the pandemic.
“I had another coach in the league call me (Tuesday),” Franklin said on a teleconference with the media. “He was kind of recommending that the Big Ten come out and say this needs to be consistent across the Big Ten. And I said I just don’t think that’s going to work. It either needs to be national or not at all.”
Once that happens, Franklin has his own set of concerns. Players are around each other frequently and spend plenty of time with their coaches, who have their own families to go home to.
That will further complicate what the team and coaches can do when they return to University Park.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can to make sure the student-athletes are healthy but that goes the same with the staff,” Franklin said. “There’s gonna be issues that we’re going to have to be aware of and have plans for with the staff. Where are we all living? And are you going back to your families? Maybe someone in your family isn’t taking the precautions that they should. Now you bring that back to your team. There are a lot of things that factor in.”
Franklin also spoke about having to separate players into smaller groups once they do return to help mitigate potential spread of the virus. That means that the typical rounds of physical testing they undergo prior to the season, which Franklin said would usually be done quickly, could take days instead of hours.
And if one player in a position group were to get the virus, suddenly an entire position group could be pulled from play and leave the Nittany Lions without an answer on the field.
“Are you gonna meet with all your quarterbacks at the same time?” Franklin said. “Well, if you meet with all of your quarterbacks at the same time, and they all get sick, you don’t have a healthy quarterback. Now you’re going to have to break up your quarterback meetings as well. ... This is a lot more complicated than I think a lot of people are looking at it. That’s where the challenges come.”
The scenario Franklin outlined may be an extreme one, but the general concern is valid. The spread of the coronavirus may be mitigated when college football returns, but it’s unlikely to be eradicated entirely. Even when state health and university officials do determine it’s safe enough to allow the Nittany Lions to return to campus, that doesn’t mean conditions will be the same in the areas where players live, or are currently staying.
That leaves open the door that a return for Penn State might not be a return of the entire roster.
“I think there’s going to be 90% of our team ... they’re going to run back,” Franklin said. “But there’s also going to be 10%, maybe a little higher, maybe a little bit lower, that aren’t comfortable coming back. Or there families aren’t comfortable with them coming back, and that’s fine. If you’re not comfortable coming back and you want to stay at home, then we’re supportive.
“Because at the end of the day it’s about what’s in the student-athlete’s best interest, and what are they comfortable with and what are their families comfortable with.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 5:17 PM.
