Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly assesses the 2020 preseason
Variety of challenges await the Irish, including COVID-19 and whether to move games
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The biggest “if ” that Brian Kelly is confronting no longer is whether there will be a college football season, but whether it will actually play out the way it is currently scheduled.
A day after the Notre Dame players began returning to campus in waves and quarantining at the Morris Inn, the Irish 11th-year football coach met with the media (via Zoom) to reveal more details about what the first season of ND football in 102 years to be staged during a pandemic is beginning to look like.
The absolutes revealed last week are that ND will test all players and staff for COVID-19, both diagnostic and antibody tests, beginning Monday through June 19. Online summer school classes also start Monday, and voluntary workouts are set to begin June 22.
Social change nationwide and the formation of a team unity council closer to home, to advance the conversation of racial equality, is a big part of the big picture and something to be explored in more depth in the coming days and weeks.
The biggest remaining unknowns about the Irish 12-game regular-season schedule encompass the two games against Pac-12 teams (Oct. 10 at home against Stanford and Nov. 28 at USC), and three neutral-site games slated to take place in NFL Stadiums.
Those games are a Sept. 26 against Wake Forest at the Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.; technically an ND home game Oct. 3 against Wisconsin at the Packers’ Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., and a Nov. 14 matchup against Georgia Tech at the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Pac-12 is toying with a conference-only schedule and variations beyond that in an effort to minimize COVID-19 concerns. The league hasn’t committed to that or the original schedules, for that matter. Same with the Big Ten, which could affect the Wisconsin game.
“We’re waiting for some further clarification on those things,” Kelly said, “but we’ve got some backup plans as
well.”
The possible move out of the NFL stadiums isn’t so much a safety issue as it was in the decision to move the season opener with Navy from Dublin, Ireland, to Annapolis, Maryland. Economics may drive the NFL stadium outcomes.
And in a season when so many other sports are counting on maxing out football revenue at their respective schools way more than usual, it would be fiscally irresponsible not to explore on-campus options.
“The NFL is talking about capping attendance at stadiums,” Kelly said, “so questions come up like: Does it make sense to go to an NFL stadium that seats 60,000, 70,000, 80,000 and have 25,000 or 30,000 in it? And impact the gate to a level where you can’t afford to be there, because it becomes a losing proposition?
“Those are things that have to be worked out. We’ve got a couple of months, but I think these are the things
that people should keep an eye on that still need to be massaged.”
When given the chance, Kelly passed on lamenting how much the canceling of on-campus recruiting visits since March have eroded some momentum in building his 2021 recruiting class.
The reality is the on-campus visit to Notre Dame is typically the school’s trump card in a given cycle, so the Irish coaches have invested in upping their game on virtual campus tours.
The NCAA has extended the ban of on-campus recruiting through at least the end of July, and Kelly and his staff are preparing for that to continue well beyond that date.
“We seem to think that with all the precautions that are being taken relative to your own campus, relative to testing, how is it you can fly in a family that hasn’t been tested,” Kelly said, “put them up on your campus, in your hotels, and let them walk around campus freely?
“I just think it’s going to be hard to navigate through this in the fall. There’s still work to be done. I don’t think it’s going to happen quickly. If it does happen, we’ll be excited about it, but we’ll be very cautious and we’ll have to ask a lot of questions.
“We’re operating as if you will not visit this campus this recruiting season, and we’ll have to take our campus to you.”
Players and staff will undergo COVID-19 testing every time ND moves into a different phase of its preseason prep, with each phase allowing larger groups and more freedom. Testing during the season will happen once a week.
The school has not yet finalized its policy when it comes to revealing positive tests.
If there is an outbreak, beyond an isolated positive or two, the Irish are prepared to pivot to virtual meetings. Equally as important, though, was examining a plan if Kelly or his assistants tested positive.
“The first thing we tried to make certain that we all were aware of was make sure you have a replacement, because what happens when you go down?” Kelly said.
“What happens if (offensive coordinator) Tommy Rees gets sick? Where do we go? And for that matter, what happens if I go down for two to three weeks? Where are we going?
“The mandate was, ‘Let’s not be in silos when it comes to information. Let’s share information so everybody clearly knows what path we want to take with regard to everything that we’re doing.’”
The NCAA on Thursday is expected to reveal a uniform six-week window for all FBS teams for team-required conditioning, film study walkthroughs and training camp.
If the reported first draft turns out to be the final one, Notre Dame won’t move into its camp phase until Aug. 7 or Aug. 8.
Because of the reconfigured runway to the season and truncated spring, Kelly anticipates starting the season with a smaller version of the ND playbook. But not for long.
“I want everybody to be prepared that there will be more to come after week 1,” he said.