When the Maryland Terrapins last practiced together, they were in the midst of their Thanksgiving-week preparation for a game at Michigan State. Eight months have passed, and in that time the novel coronavirus pandemic upended life in the United States and inside every college football program. But the Maryland team — minus six players who decided not to play this season — finally returned to on-field practice Friday with nothing certain beyond that day’s work.
The young Terps squad will be without last year’s starting quarterback, Josh Jackson, who chose to opt out, along with two starting offensive linemen, senior Johnny Jordan and sophomore Austin Fontaine. Defensive lineman Jalen Alexander, defensive back Vincent Flythe and linebacker TJ Kautai also chose to sit out, while Coach Michael Locksley said tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, an expected starter, will miss the season for medical reasons.
“We anticipate having to use our whole roster of guys that are available to us,” Locksley said. “And we're going to play the guys that are here.”
As the 2020 season approaches, more than 20 players from Power Five conferences have announced decisions to opt out, citing concerns about their safety. The dilemma of players is compounded by worries about how their eligibility will be impacted if the season is cut short. While the NCAA has assured athletes their scholarships will be honored this season, the association left these eligibility decisions to each division. That uncertainty, Locksley said, is “a huge, huge question for a lot of our players that have opted out and even for some of those that are in right now.”
This week, the Big Ten released each team’s schedule, and the Terps will open the season Sept. 5 at Iowa, leaving four weeks to prepare for what could become the strangest college football season in history — if these games are played.
“It's a fluid situation,” Commissioner Kevin Warren said Wednesday on the Big Ten Network. “There's no guarantee that we will have fall sports or football season.”
During the season, the Big Ten will require a minimum of two tests per week for football players and personnel. If someone tests positive for the coronavirus, that person will isolate for 10 days. Anyone who had close contact with that person will begin a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Even without a significant outbreak, teams could be forced to quarantine large groups of players, which would quickly send the season into chaos.
“It forces you to definitely, definitely develop everybody,” Maryland defensive coordinator Jon Hoke said. “You've got to do a good job of developing your depth and keeping your scheme relatively broad from the standpoint that everybody can execute it.”
The Terrapins missed out on spring ball, which was set to begin about a week after the NCAA halted all athletics activity in March. The Maryland football staff, which includes three new position coaches, spent those weeks working to install offensive and defensive systems through video conferences with film and “Jeopardy!” games. But the coaches only will be able to truly assess the ability of their players this month.
Jackson’s decision leaves Maryland with two scholarship quarterbacks available, sophomore Taulia Tagovailoa and redshirt freshman Lance LeGendre. Tagovailoa, a transfer from Alabama and the younger brother of Heisman Trophy finalist Tua Tagovailoa, received a waiver for immediate eligibility, the school announced Friday.
Though Maryland’s quarterback room was thin before the pandemic, these are the predicaments all teams will face this season. A few Big Ten standouts, including Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman and Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore, chose not to play this season and instead focus on the NFL draft.
When a player chooses to opt out, he reminds his peers around the country of the question tormenting administrators and athletes: Is playing this season worthwhile? Numerous players have voiced concerns about the upcoming season on social media, and even more have had those discussions privately among themselves. Players from the Pac-12, Big Ten and Mountain West each released unified statements in the past week asking for improved health and safety protocols.
As Maryland’s players return to the field, they will wear masks and their helmets will be equipped with face shields. They will enter the locker room in shifts, with the staff sanitizing the space in between each group’s turn. The players are living at a nearby hotel during fall camp, and there they only mingle among themselves.
The staff can truly control only what goes on inside the football facility. Usually that’s enough to keep a team on track. But amid a pandemic, the stability of the season, one that could be uprooted and canceled at any time, also hinges on a bit of luck and the players’ level of personal responsibility.
“It requires a lot of sacrifice from a lot of guys,” senior running back Jake Funk said. “We just try to rally guys together and tell people, ‘You don’t want to be that guy that ruins it for the whole group.’ We talk about it all the time. If one person fails, we all fail.”
Notes:
- Locksley announced three position changes: Isaiah Hazel, a freshman wide receiver last season, will play safety. Tyler Baylor, previously a defensive end, and Kameron Blount, previously a linebacker, will both join the tight ends group.
- Joseph Boletepeli, a defensive lineman who transferred from North Carolina State, will be eligible to play this season.
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