Muschamp poses a valid question
‘If it’s not safe for our fans, how is it safe for our student-athletes?’
With all the speculation of playing college football this season in isolated stadiums without fans, former Florida Gators and current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Will Muschamp is wrestling with an ethical question:
Should college football be played at all if it has to be played in empty stadiums?
“The most paramount thing we’re concerned with is the safety of our studentathletes,” Muschamp said during an interview Thursday. “… I really haven’t thought a lot about the what-ifs of what may or may not happen. I’m focused on getting our guys back whenever that may be and putting a plan into action to get them ready to play. But from a school standpoint and something I’ve been thinking about: If it’s not safe for our fans then how is it safe for our student-athletes? That’s been my mindset.”
Muschamp joined Marc Daniels and I for an interview during our radio show Thursday morning on FM-96.9 and AM-740 and talked about why he took a voluntary 10% pay cut and many other college football topics.
Here are some of the highlights: Mike Bianchi: “One of my first jobs out of college was covering high school sports for the Gainesville Sun. There was an eighth grade phenom at Oak Hall High School who was good enough to play on the varsity. In his first start against Bronson High School, this kid picked off three passes, ran for 121 yards and threw a pass to set up the winning field goal as time expired. That eighth grader was named Will Muschamp, who I named the Gainesville Sun Player of the Week. Coach Muschamp, I’m thinking that Player of the Week award catapulted you to what you’ve become today.”
Will Muschamp (laughing): “No doubt it. That might have been the highlight of my playing career. I appreciate you reliving that game at Oak Hall Field against Bronson High School. What a great memory!”
Mike Bianchi: “You are one of the few SEC coaches to have voluntarily taken a pay cut. Why did you decide to do that?”
Will Muschamp: “Coach [Ray] Tanner, our athletic director, called me and said, ‘We’re going through a tough time in our country, in our state and here at our university. I think it would set a great example for our league and our state if me, you, [men’s basketball coach] Frank Martin, [women’s basketball coach] Dawn Staley and [school] President [Robert] Caslen did this.’ I agreed with Coach Tanner 100%. It’s the right thing to do to help our state and our school. At the end of the day, I’m fortunate enough to be able to do this.”
Mike Bianchi:
“How worried are you about the financial crisis facing our country and college athletics?”
Will Muschamp: “You can’t stick your head in the sand and pretend everything’s OK. It’s not. I want to thank the doctors, nurses, medical staff and first responders. They’re the ones in the line of fire right now. They’re the ones that are making a difference in our country. We’re going to find a cure for this; it’s just a matter of when. Right now, there are a lot more questions than there are answers.”
Mike Bianchi: “The NCAA [Division I] council ruled earlier this week that colleges can start allowing football and basketball players to start conditioning on campus as soon as June 1. Knowing you, I’m sure you have a comprehensive plan for how that’s going to work when it happens.”
Will Muschamp: “No decisions have been made yet by our university or our league. We’re looking at
different models for when players come back — whether it’s June 1, June 8, July 1 — and I think we have a pretty good plan for all of those dates. Our players have been off for so long, I think we have to assume they’ve done nothing. You’re probably going to have a percentage of guys who have done a lot and they’re in shape and ready a go, a percentage who have done about what they’re supposed to, a percentage who haven’t done quite as much and then a smaller percentage who haven’t done anything. That’s why you have to assume you’re starting at ground zero.”
Marc Daniels: “Coach, with everybody basically missing spring practice, what’s a realistic amount of time it will take and how big of a challenge will it be to get a team ready if the season were to start on time?”
Will Muschamp: “It’s a tremendous challenge. At minimum, I think you need
eight weeks. You need at least a month to get your guys back in shape and get them ready from a conditioning and endurance standpoint. I’ve coached at Valdosta State and West Georgia — places where players didn’t have the opportunity to go to summer school [and be involved in an offseason conditioning program] like we do now at a place like South Carolina. When players go home for the summer, they stay in shape by working out at their high schools. Well, the high schools are shut down now. Our guys don’t have memberships to Planet Fitness. Only about 30-35% of our players have access to weights. Guys haven’t had the same opportunity to stay in shape as they have in the past. We’re going to need a month to get them in shape and then another month to get them ready to play. “
Mike Bianchi: “Didn’t you and your coaches start meeting in person? How is
that working out?”
Will Muschamp: “We started back last week. Our offensive staff comes into the office from 8 a.m. until noon and the defensive staff comes in from 1 to 5 p.m. We practice social distancing, we’re all wearing masks and following all of the protocols that are in place. We wanted to start phasing things back in and getting back to the office. It’s gone very well.”
Mike Bianchi: “Last question: Legendary Auburn coach Pat Dye has COVID-19 and is in the hospital. Tell us a good story about Coach Dye from when you were defensive coordinator at Auburn?”
Will Muschamp: “I texted back and forth with Pat Dye Jr., Coach Dye’s son, this morning and he says his dad seems to be doing well. So that was great to hear. … I got to know a lot of the former players when I coached at Auburn. Tracy
Rocker, who was our defensive line coach, played for Coach Dye. All the former players would tell a similar story: During spring or fall practice, if Coach Dye showed up for a scrimmage wearing his coaching gear, you better strap it up because it was going to be a Ben-Hur — you were going to be there all day. But if he came to the scrimmage wearing his [blue jean] overalls, he was wanting to go out to his farm afterward and you knew the scrimmage was going to be a lot shorter. Players always hoped he would show up at practice wearing his blue jeans.”
Mike Bianchi: “Thank you, Coach.”
Will Muschamp: “Go ’Cocks!”