Strategies to keep players healthy for the 2020 season
Oklahoma State players returned to campus this week; three reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Alabama players returned to campus this week; five reportedly tested positive.
There will be more positives this month as teams open doors for voluntary workouts — perhaps hundreds of positive tests across the 130 teams in major college football.
It’s expected, it’s inevitable, and hopefully, it’s met with proper isolation and contact tracing responses from the schools.
But the early June news provides a look into the August and September reality:
For all the protocols in place, for all the precautions taken, there will positive tests during training camp and the regular season, forcing teams to isolate players for up to 14 days.
Success in 2020 — assuming there is a season — starts with keeping as many players and coaches as safe as possible.
On the field, victory could depend more on coronavirus mitigation techniques than red-zone and third-down execution.
In other words: Coaches should consider isolating certain players during the week to prevent them from requiring isolation on Saturday.
That could mean ... • Limiting the starting quarterback’s interaction with teammates, both in meeting and on the practice field.
• Keeping the starting and backup quarterback separated from each other, thereby decreasing the risk of both testing positive and requiring quarantine.
• Doing the same for the No. 1 offensive line, perhaps the starting secondary and even the placekicker — all units/positions where depth chart disruption correlates strongly to defeat.
Any decrease in interaction on the practice field naturally decreases cohesiveness on game day. But in many cases, the prospects for victory are better with the starters at 80 percent efficiency than the second stringers at 100 percent.
For that reason, we expect coaches to get creative with roster management this fall.
Oh, and there’s one more player to consider for Monday-to-Friday isolation — a player nobody notices until he’s gone. Whatever coaches do during the week, protect the long snapper.