RMU football back after 35-day layoff
Colonials face No. 7 Kennesaw State
Robert Morris football has been on a “monthlong bye week.” At least that’s how head coach Bernard Clark described it earlier this week. There was a chuckle and shake of the head in there for good measure, too, acknowledgement from Clark that the position his team has found itself in is both unbelievable and a sign of the times.
Robert Morris opened its fivegame spring season on Feb. 27 at James Madison. It was supposed to host Monmouth on March 13 and travel to Charleston Southern the following week. But positive COVID-19 tests within the program prompted back-to-back postponements. Now, after a 35-day wait in between games, Robert Morris is returning to action at Kennesaw State for a 1 p.m. Saturday kick, televised on ESPN+.
“I don’t think any of us have seen anything like this,” Clark said, eight months removed from Robert Morris’ fall season being canceled. “It’s extremely frustrating. But it’s part of the new normal, I guess, what we’re going through.”
For a couple weeks, Robert Morris didn’t have anyone to snap the ball. An undisclosed number of positive tests cropped up on the Colonials’ offensive line as they prepared for Monmouth. All three of Robert Morris’ centers were identified through contact tracing, as well as starting quarterback George Martin.
The Big South Conference adopted what became a universal rule of thumb among Power Five schools in the fall, that teams needed at least 53 players, seven offensive linemen (with one center) and four defensive linemen to play. Robert Morris was unable to meet those requirements.
When the Colonials received word of the positive tests, they shut their facility down for a day of cleaning and sanitation. The necessary individuals were placed in quarantine. Once the facility was all clear, unaffected players and coaches were allowed to
return for treatment and film study.
Over the last month, Robert Morris has consistently practiced three times per week, sometimes four. Most sessions, though, have hardly been normal. Without centers for a couple weeks, the team leaned on 7-on-7s drills and obstacle course workouts called “Colonial games.” Recently, they’ve been back to thud tackling, but no live scrimmages.
As far as preparation, the Colonials should know every participating Big South team pretty well by now. They game-planned for Monmouth and Charleston Southern before the postponements. They’ve scouted Gardner Webb, a matchup that was scheduled for last month but is now to be determined. And Robert Morris feels ready for Kennesaw State, the No. 7 team in the country which boasts a triple-option offense.
“It’s been off the wall. Every day, every week it seems like there’s something new,” said defensive end and West Allegheny graduate Matthew Holmes. “But we’ve got to stay sharp. We’ve got to stay ready, adapt and adjust to whatever’s thrown at us next.”
On that note, Holmes praised his teammates’ approach to the last month. The team was frustrated by the long layoff. But it also maintained its desire to play this spring and its excitement to face new challenges in the Big South. The 2019 season was Robert Morris’ last in the Northeast Conference after 24 years as a member.
The Colonials were also encouraged by their season opener at No. 2 James Madison. Clark said his team doesn’t believe in moral victories. No coach would ever admit to that. But a 36-16 loss as 38.5-point underdogs — two years removed from a 73-7 beatdown by the powerhouse Dukes — is something to build on.
Robert Morris picked off James Madison three times in the first half, a performance that, while it feels like ages ago, still inspires confidence. Defensive coordinator Dave Plungus said his players “weren’t afraid and weren’t backing down.”
How that translates to their Big South debut at Kennesaw State, we’ll find out Saturday. But at the very least, the Colonials have pushed past last month’s postponements. After missing out on fall football, they just want to play.
“The big thing with our guys is, you go from not having a winning season since 2010 and then you have the season we had in 2019, and our guys see what they’re capable of doing,” Clark said of Robert Morris’ 7-5 campaign two falls ago. “They see that the coaches are believing in them, they’re believing in the coaches, and they’re eager to get back at it. They want to see where we can go with this thing more than anything else.”