COVID-19 issues dominate annual preseason event
The Pac-12’s annual preseason media event took the form of webinar on Wednesday, with each head coach answering questions for approximately 25 minutes.
The Hotline monitored the proceedings. Here are comments that jumped out over the six hours ...
• Cal coach Justin Wilcox on the lifting of local restrictions to allow the Bears to start training camp on Friday: “We are not cleared as of today. We are anticipating getting clearance today or tomorrow. That would be the final piece that would allow us to practice in cohorts of 75.”
• Stanford coach David Shaw echoed Wilcox’s comments, saying: “We have a lot of ‘i’s to dot and ’t’s to cross. We’re in constant communication with Santa Clara County.”
• Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin, who tested positive for COVID-19, on his health: “We’ll see where we are at the end of the week. I don’t have symptoms; neither does my son. The lesson is, this thing is serious. You cannot be too careful. You just can’t.”
• UCLA coach Chip Kelly on having COVID-19 in the spring: “The biggest thing is, I’m still not really sure how we got it. That’s the one thing about the virus. You hear about superspreader events and nonsocial distancing, but you don’t have to be exposed that way. You can be exposed in other ways. I had one day where I felt like I had a cold. My wife was a little longer. It’s something we all have to take very seriously. One thing I learned during this process is you can get it any time.”
• Colorado coach Karl Dorrell on getting clearance for full practice from Boulder County: “We’re hopeful that’s going to work out. We’ve operated the last two-and-a-half weeks under the new ordinance. We’ve been doing individual workouts.”
• Arizona State coach Herm Edwards on the lack of minority coaches in football: “We’ve got to do better. College needs to do better. The NFL needs to do better. The Pac-12 has done an outstanding job. This conference is about innovation; it’s about opportunity. All the things it preaches, it backs it up. That’s something I don’t lose sight of.”
• Sumlin on sophomore quarterback Grant Gunnell: “He’s stepped forward and really done some things to grow and help grow our team together. From a leadership standpoint, he’s made some serious strides over these last seven months.”
• Washington coach Jimmy Lake on naming a starting quarterback: “As soon as somebody takes control, and it feels right, then we will make that announcement. If it doesn’t feel right that first game, we may have multiple guys play.”
• Edwards on quarterback Jayden Daniels: “I want him to shine with the leadership part. Now, all of a sudden, this offense is designed around him. The thing I can’t stress upon him enough is that you can’t get involved in the outside noise … I want him to enjoy being a student athlete and don’t get caught up in anything else.”
• Shaw on early kickoffs: “College students don’t go to bed at 9 p.m. They need their sleep.”
• Wilcox on the return of cornerback Camryn Bynum, who opted back in: “What he brings off the field, how he prepares, how he lives his life … he’s just a great example for our team and our younger players. He is so consistent and so motivated and you see it every
day. And that is golden.”
• Dorrell on fair expectations in his first season: “I still have great aspirations for this team. Have we had a practice together? No. But we’ve done enough work off the field. Everybody’s a Zoom expert … Now, we’re at the point there we have to put it together.”
• Shaw on the abbreviated schedule: “I’m saddened, honestly. I enjoy competing against our Southern California mates.”
• Lake on his desire for the College Football Playoff to expand to six teams: “This would be a great year to start it … I have my model all drawn up.” ORLOON TOPS POLL, EAL
PIEKLI SLEONI IN NORTH >> Football experts are envisioning bigger things out of Cal and some improvement out of Stanford, according to the results of the annual Pac-12 media poll. Cal, which was expecting a conference-high 18 starters to return from an 8-5 season, has been picked to finish second behind preseason favorite Oregon in the North Division. The Bears had never been predicted to finish as high as second since the conference went to two divisions in 2011.
Meanwhile, Stanford will be the presumed fourth-place finisher in the North after winding up in last place a year ago. The Cardinal is coming off a 4-8 season, the worst season in coach David Shaw’s 10-year career.
Oregon was the overwhelming choice by the 38-member media panel to win the North as well as the Pac-12 championship.
USC was installed as the favorite to win the South.