Riley still planning on playing football in 2020
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was back addressing the media for the first time since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shut down spring football.
Here are some highlights from the 30-minute conference call Tuesday afternoon.
Riley not throwing in the towel for 2020
As the pandemic continues and the number of infected people increases, the college football-related questions keep changing.
We’ve gone from wondering about spring practices, about a spring game to now starting to legitimately wonder about whether the 2020 season will even happen.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said last Friday he would be surprised if the season takes place. There were reports over the weekend of trying to do a rush-rush job of having the season start in July because COVID-19 appears to be prevalent the most in winter months.
So much uncertainty, so many different lines of logic. For Riley, though, he definitely has not lost any hope regarding the 2020 season.
“I definitely haven't considered it,” said Riley about there not being a season. “Just because I think that's so out in front right now that I just don't know if it's going to do me or us any good. There are still so many unknowns. We've got a plan for if it does happen, if we do have our season. We understand if we do, there may very well be some type of adjustments that we may have to abide by. None of us know exactly what it looks like right now.
“I said it the other day and I believe it, that I feel by September, the world is going to need football. Hopefully I think a lot of that will be determined by our country's response to this and how serious every single person takes it. Hopefully we, as a country, can do the best we can.”
Riley said it’s tough for him to envision a season without any fans, either, but understands that might be one of the only realistic options on the board as we get closer to the fall. He said it would be very different to have nobody at Owen Field and definitely having nobody at the Cotton Bowl vs. Texas, but no way to rule that out at this time.
Current state of the program
Understandably, a lot of hypotheticals surround the future and what could happen. But what about what is happening right now for the Sooners?
Admittedly, not much, but the Big 12 did grant virtual meetings with the players for two hours per week in a ruling Sunday evening.
What’s really carrying the day right now would be the strength and conditioning and nutrition staff for the Sooners. Riley was quick to praise them for their efforts in coordinating any plan possible.
“I give our staff a lot of credit,” Riley said. “That’s been one of the toughest things to (do) because every single player has a different setup. The accessibility ranges from nothing to some guys still having full facilities to work out at. They work out at different times. And their access to different nutrition is varied as well.
“It’s become very individualized. I give Coach (Bennie) Wylie, our strength staff and our nutrition team a bunch of credit because you can’t just lay out a blanket plan for your team. You have to take those things into consideration and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”
It’s easy to see on social media that a lot of players are back home, but Riley said there are some players who have returned to Norman because they’re ready to work. This is their routine and what they’re accustomed to doing during the spring.
“I would say, rough estimate right now, I'd say 80-85 percent of our guys are still home,” Riley said.
Sermon ‘was a great Sooner, really good teammate’
In terms of personnel, the biggest news has been a subtraction to OU’s 2020 squad. It was already a given that running back Trey Sermon was going to have to miss spring as he continues to recover from last year’s injury, but now we know he’ll be doing that getting ready to be an Ohio State Buckeye.
Sermon was at OU’s pro day three weeks ago and everything seemed to be OK before he announced less than 72 hours later that he was hitting the portal and officially picked the Buckeyes last week.
“As far as Trey, Trey did a tremendous job,” Riley said. “He was a great Sooner, really, really good teammate. Had some obviously some really, really nice moments here throughout his career. Loved the three years we had him. Hated it ended the way it did for him. The middle of last season I know he was frustrated and then obviously the injury was just a horrible way for it to end. Hate that it ended on a sour note for him because he did a great job here.
“The portal deal, listen, we get it. We’ve been the beneficiary of a lot of really good ones that have come in here and done well. You’re going to lose some guys too. I think Trey saw a situation competitively that he felt like there was going to be a better opportunity to play a little more somewhere else. I get it. I respect it. It’s part of the world we live in. Certainly nothing but positives to say about him — the kind of person he is, the kind of player he was, represented us well. Loved every second with him and we definitely wish him the best.”
It leaves OU with five running backs for the 2020 season. A world of potential, for sure, but outside of Kennedy Brooks, not much production. Big challenge for first-year coach DeMarco Murray, no doubt.
Circle June 1?
College football, and most of society as a whole, has hit the pause button. Social distancing has become a part of every day vernacular, and everybody has to do their part to slow down the pandemic and return to normalcy.
But is there a date or a timeline that has to be reached to feel good about the 2020 season? Riley has one in mind.
“Hypothetically, if you are able to open up June 1 and start having guys on campus and all that, then I doubt they change much,” Riley said. “If you are not able to do that, then there's going to be a lot of things that are going to have to be looked at.”
Riley didn’t seem to be clamoring for more time to make up for the lost practices. In his eyes, the magic number is between 15-20 practices. If teams can do that, hey, it’s time for football again.
Coaching is about adjustments, he said. COVID-19 is just another one, just one nobody could have seen coming.
“As coaches you’re kind of constantly evolving, adjusting,” Riley said. “I think the best staffs and best coaches do that well. I think we do a good job of it. I feel like it’s an advantage. As far as how late, you know, just strictly going in from a football perspective you give us — hopefully we have a little bit of time in the offseason to get them in shape and work them out — but if we can have 15-20 practices we can be ready to go play, without a doubt.
“Does it mean it would be as good as it was if we had spring ball, all that, I can’t answer that. But I know we can be ready to play and go compete. How late is too late to start it? I don’t know if we can put a limit on that. Just purely the game can be played just about anytime, anywhere.”