Gators head coach Dan Mullen and his staff will be able to have increased interaction with their players starting next month. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Mullen Embraces Flexibility of NCAA Summer Schedule
Thursday, June 18, 2020 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The UF football team's 2020 season opener on Sept. 5 against Eastern Washington is 79 days from today.
Considering all that has happened since mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down college athletics, the season is starting to tiptoe forward. On the other hand, the first weekend in September seems as far away as a SpaceX trip.
Regardless of perception, the possibility of college football season took on added reality Wednesday when the NCAA Division I Council approved a model for a summer schedule prior to preseason camps. For schools like Florida that have a season-opening game scheduled Sept. 5, players can participate in up to eight hours per week of conditioning, weight training and film review (no more than two hours of film review per week) from July 13 to July 23. And then from July 24 to Aug. 6, players can participate in up to 20 hours of football activities per week but no more than four hours per day.
"We've been able to work with that schedule,'' Mullen said of the outline earlier this week. "I think the one thing they're trying to do is give us flexibility, especially with where we're at right now. I think to be able to kind of give us the flexibility to manage within our own programs is going to give us the opportunity to best develop these young guys and prepare these young guys. I'm going to try to find the best way to safely develop our players, to get them physically prepared and mentally prepared for the season … with the No. 1 priority being their health and safety."
In the two-week window starting July 24, players can spend up to eight hours per week for weight training and conditioning, up to six hours per week for walk-throughs – including the use of a football – and up to six hours per week for meetings. The meetings can include film review, team meetings, position meetings and one-on-one meetings.
Meanwhile, players are required to have two days off during the 14-day period.
"The Football Oversight Committee worked hard to create a model that balances the proper precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the need for an acclimatization period to safely return to play," said council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. "The council members believe approving this model is a positive step forward for the sport."
Once the NCAA's summer workout plan is over, teams would begin for what now is an unchanged preseason camp schedule starting Aug. 7. Teams have a five-day acclimatization period followed by up to 25 practices. The Gators started voluntary workouts June 8 after a two-week period when all participants were tested for COVID-19 and underwent standard physical examinations prior to being cleared to return to activities on campus.
Mullen, speaking to reporters a day prior to the NCAA's announcement, is thankful for at least a semblance of normalcy on the calendar.
"You can talk to a lot of our players, if there's one thing they're hungry for it's to get back to somewhat of a routine,'' Mullen said. "One of the hardest things that we have probably had to deal with, to me, is not being around our players. I love the personal interaction of our players. When you get on a team meeting and you get on the Zoom call and you're looking at ever how many boxes can fit on per screen, and then I try to scroll through the screen just to even see everyone's face. I think one of the hardest ones is not dealing with the personal face-to-face, the personal interaction with our players on a regular basis."
The University Athletic Association continues to prepare as if the fall sports season will start as scheduled, an approach that Mullen has taken with his team despite the coronavirus pandemic canceling spring practice, the annual Orange & Blue Game, and sending players scattering for the second half of the spring semester.
Of course, many unknowns remain in regard to what the season might look like, whether or not fans will be allowed, and if all games on the schedule will be played.
Mullen has kept the message simple with the Gators.
"As of right now, we're planning a training camp as normal,'' Mullen said. "We're planning a normal regular season because that's what we can know at this point. What we have to do is be prepared to adjust to whatever does happen."
In the middle of his Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday, Mullen modeled the mask he wears around the office and in meetings. That's just one way the summer of 2020 is different than any other in college athletics.
Another difference comes late next month when for two weeks before preseason camp, the Gators will get back to work – if the schedule holds.
"To me, that is really the opportunity for the players to prepare themselves mentally, get out there through walk-throughs to start getting some muscle memory to prepare for the season and start doing movements that will be involved in during the season so that our guys can kind of be prepared rolling into training camp," Mullen said. "Training camp is supposed to start on time. It's those two weeks and a buildup that's different this summer for us."
Considering all that has happened since mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down college athletics, the season is starting to tiptoe forward. On the other hand, the first weekend in September seems as far away as a SpaceX trip.
Regardless of perception, the possibility of college football season took on added reality Wednesday when the NCAA Division I Council approved a model for a summer schedule prior to preseason camps. For schools like Florida that have a season-opening game scheduled Sept. 5, players can participate in up to eight hours per week of conditioning, weight training and film review (no more than two hours of film review per week) from July 13 to July 23. And then from July 24 to Aug. 6, players can participate in up to 20 hours of football activities per week but no more than four hours per day.
"We've been able to work with that schedule,'' Mullen said of the outline earlier this week. "I think the one thing they're trying to do is give us flexibility, especially with where we're at right now. I think to be able to kind of give us the flexibility to manage within our own programs is going to give us the opportunity to best develop these young guys and prepare these young guys. I'm going to try to find the best way to safely develop our players, to get them physically prepared and mentally prepared for the season … with the No. 1 priority being their health and safety."
In the two-week window starting July 24, players can spend up to eight hours per week for weight training and conditioning, up to six hours per week for walk-throughs – including the use of a football – and up to six hours per week for meetings. The meetings can include film review, team meetings, position meetings and one-on-one meetings.
Meanwhile, players are required to have two days off during the 14-day period.
"The Football Oversight Committee worked hard to create a model that balances the proper precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the need for an acclimatization period to safely return to play," said council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. "The council members believe approving this model is a positive step forward for the sport."
DI Council approves football preseason model: https://t.co/dDIPVG1GCO pic.twitter.com/R7fUesil44
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) June 17, 2020
Once the NCAA's summer workout plan is over, teams would begin for what now is an unchanged preseason camp schedule starting Aug. 7. Teams have a five-day acclimatization period followed by up to 25 practices. The Gators started voluntary workouts June 8 after a two-week period when all participants were tested for COVID-19 and underwent standard physical examinations prior to being cleared to return to activities on campus.
Mullen, speaking to reporters a day prior to the NCAA's announcement, is thankful for at least a semblance of normalcy on the calendar.
"You can talk to a lot of our players, if there's one thing they're hungry for it's to get back to somewhat of a routine,'' Mullen said. "One of the hardest things that we have probably had to deal with, to me, is not being around our players. I love the personal interaction of our players. When you get on a team meeting and you get on the Zoom call and you're looking at ever how many boxes can fit on per screen, and then I try to scroll through the screen just to even see everyone's face. I think one of the hardest ones is not dealing with the personal face-to-face, the personal interaction with our players on a regular basis."
The University Athletic Association continues to prepare as if the fall sports season will start as scheduled, an approach that Mullen has taken with his team despite the coronavirus pandemic canceling spring practice, the annual Orange & Blue Game, and sending players scattering for the second half of the spring semester.
Of course, many unknowns remain in regard to what the season might look like, whether or not fans will be allowed, and if all games on the schedule will be played.
Mullen has kept the message simple with the Gators.
"As of right now, we're planning a training camp as normal,'' Mullen said. "We're planning a normal regular season because that's what we can know at this point. What we have to do is be prepared to adjust to whatever does happen."
In the middle of his Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday, Mullen modeled the mask he wears around the office and in meetings. That's just one way the summer of 2020 is different than any other in college athletics.
Another difference comes late next month when for two weeks before preseason camp, the Gators will get back to work – if the schedule holds.
"To me, that is really the opportunity for the players to prepare themselves mentally, get out there through walk-throughs to start getting some muscle memory to prepare for the season and start doing movements that will be involved in during the season so that our guys can kind of be prepared rolling into training camp," Mullen said. "Training camp is supposed to start on time. It's those two weeks and a buildup that's different this summer for us."
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