Rams, Buffs deal with uncertainty over spring ball
On Wednesday, Beau Freyler was talking with Colorado State about being fitted for a Rams jersey, pants and cleats as part of his on-campus recruiting visit with new football coach Steve Addazio.
On Thursday morning, though, he found out those plans had changed.
“As I was about to leave school and go drive up, I got word that it had been canceled, said Freyler, a junior standout safety/wideout at Pine Creek High School told The Post.
Concerns about exposure to the coronavirus pandemic have put a momentary freeze on football operations at CSU and the University of Colorado, with the Mountain West and Pac-12 suspending all in-season spring sports. The NCAA also canceled all winter and spring championship events.
At CU, the Buffaloes were set to begin spring practices under first-year head coach Karl Dorrell starting on Monday. A team spokesman said CU will determine the status of those practices “in the very near future.” It canceled a meet-and-greet between reporters and new football assistant coaches scheduled on Friday.
“The CU athletic department is committed to the health and safety of our student-athletes, staff and fans as it relates to COVID19,” CU athletic director Rick George said in a news release. “As the situation is developing rapidly, we continue to collaborate with leaders from campus, the Pac-12 and NCAA as we make decisions that are in the best interest of our student-athletes and staff.”
At CSU, a team spokesman confirmed that oncampus visits for Rams football recruits were off the table until further notice, pending university guidelines. Addazio’s final pre-spring break practice went on as planned Thursday.
The Rams are taking next week off for spring break. The status of the second stretch of practices, which begin March 24, and the future of the April 9 spring game, have yet to be determined at a university level.
“It was a little disappointing because I was excited to check everything out and talk with the coaches,” said Freyler, the 6-foot-2 CSU football recruit rated by 247Sports as the No. 13 prospect in the state for the Class of 2021.
“But I kind of was expecting it, just because of everything else leading up to that point with the NBA (season) being suspended and college basketball (in limbo) and with some other colleges already shutting down their spring games.”
The Air Force Academy released the following statement: “Air Force Academy officials have suspended all home and away sporting events indefinitely to safeguard cadets, military and civilian personnel, family members and the local community due to the spread of COVID-19.”
The University of Northern Colorado men’s basketball team was the 2seed in the Big Sky Tournament before the hammer fell. UNC athletic director Darren Dunn said: “While we are deeply disappointed in the cancellation … we fully support the decision made by the conference. We have three talented seniors and I was confident coach (Jeff) Linder had the team in a position to win a title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. So, for their season to end like this is very disappointing.”
First-year UNC head football coach Ed McCaffrey added in a statement: “We have been in communication with the athletic department and university administration about our process moving forward for spring practice. The main priority for our program is the health and safety of our student-athletes.”