Of summer conditioning

It hasn’t been business as usual for the Starkville Academy football program, but it’s been pretty close.

Coaches were instructing, players were listening, learning and reacting.

Even with social distancing in place, work was getting done as football strength and conditioning entered its second week for the Volunteers.

It may have been week two for the players, but Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nicholson was chomping at the bit to get back together with his program after being out of town last week.

He was pleased with the progress even while he was not present.

“It was great to see the guys,” Nicholson said. “That’s the big thing. I’ve seen some of them periodically. There were some we had to run off campus because they weren’t supposed to be here. I’ve seen a few of them when we’d bump into them around town. It’s good to see them and good to be with them in a team setting again.

“In the world we’ve been in the past 10 weeks, it’s good to see the excitement and energy they come with. It’s very refreshing in the times we live in.”

Nicholson may have gotten that feel for the first time this year on Monday, but the Vols got a jump on him last week.

For quarterback Randall Futral, it was a case of as much things change, the more it stays the same.

“It’s really nice to get back with all the guys even though we are split up in some groups and still with some of our positions guys,” Futral said. “It’s just great to be back.”

The circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) caused a virtual spring practice for the

Vols.

Over the last couple of weeks, Mississippi has slowly been reopened by Governor Tate Reeves and that has allowed the return of athletic activity throughout the state.

Nicholson said Starkville Academy is following state and local leadership. He saw the situation loosened a little more after returning from his trip, but teams still can’t participate in scrimmaging (like seven-on-seven) against other teams, and can’t go to camps right now.

The Vols plan to return to inter-squad scrimmaging next week, but Nicholson said the most important thing is having everyone together again. He was impressed with the shape of the players and their ability to withstand the workouts.

“We’re looking at 99% of them who survived the first day and it was a normal first day,” Nicholson said. “They