7 — Friday, April 10, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The complications of playing football this fall
Of all the people within
college football, Chip Kelly
provided a font of wisdom on
Thursday.
“The
governors
of
the
states and
mayors
are going
to be the
ones who
tell
you
whether
we can (come back),” the
UCLA coach told reporters
Thursday. “Because the NCAA
can say, ‘Hey, you guys are all
going back,’ and if (California)
Governor
(Gavin)
Newsom
says, ‘We’re not going back,’
then we’re not going back.”
Through
the
muck
of
inarguable
fact,
that
underscores the only hard
conclusion anyone can have
right now regarding college
football’s eventual return and
the
ever-present
possibility
of its delay: Playing games
in September is going to
be an immense challenge.
And anyone trying to speak
authoritatively on the subject is
either lying or delusional.
This
would
include
Oklahoma State coach Mike
Gundy, who said this week
that he aims to have football
employees come back by May 1,
with players following shortly.
“They are 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22
years old and they are healthy
and they have the ability to fight
this virus off,” Gundy said. “If
that is true, then we sequester
them, and we continue because
we need to run money through
the state of Oklahoma.”
Setting aside the obvious
stupidity and tone-deafness
of that suggestion (which
was quickly scuttled by the
Big 12), it gives a window into
why college football can’t take
the same route professional
leagues
have
reportedly
looked into: bring players and
staff back under quarantine
from the general public, put
them all in the same place
and have them play games
on practice fields or in empty
stadiums.
As the people who run college
sports are quick to remind us,
athletes are students. This,
we’re told, is why they can’t be
paid in accordance with the
millions of dollars they bring
in to universities. And this is
why they can’t be treated any
different in the face of a global
pandemic.
If it’s not safe for thousands
of students to return to campus
in the fall, then unpaid athletes
certainly can’t be forced to
come back and play. So rule that
option out.
For the sake of argument,
let’s suppose that by the fall,
COVID-19 is under enough
control that classes can happen
in-person. When it comes to
football at the University of
Michigan, you then run into
a refrain that gets repeated
when you ask around about the
subject: Are you going to feel
safe going to a stadium with
100,000 people in September?
OK, well, let’s say you play it
without fans. Are people still
tailgating? Is that considered
dangerous?
What
about
people watching at bars and
restaurants,
which
would
surely grow in number if
nobody can attend games in
person?
It should be pointed out that
these concerns are fairly deep
in the weeds. Logistically, they
fall behind questions like, what
happens if one state gives the
OK and another doesn’t? Or,
what if traveling and staying
in hotels every other weekend
still
constitutes
risk?
Let
alone, could the system handle
a player or coach getting
coronavirus without shutting
down entirely?
And
that’s
without
mentioning the obvious: If
people are still dying in large
numbers, it’s not appropriate
to have a large sporting event
where anyone might be put at
risk. If playing requires testing
everyone on the field, and such
testing takes resources away
from hospitals that need it,
forget about it.
The financial incentive to
play college football, even with
no fans, with a delayed season
or both, is massive. Michigan,
along with every other FBS
athletic department, makes
most of its money from the
sport. Without it, non-revenue
sports
will
be
drastically
affected. Jobs will be lost.
So will scholarships. College
careers that people worked
their whole lives for, ruined.
ESPN’s
Adam
Schefter
reported Thursday that there
is a “strong conviction” among
people in college football to
play this year, in some way,
shape or form. That’s much of
the motivation as to why.
But Schefter tweeted that
at 4:10. At 4:15, Illinois Gov.
J.B. Pritzker said, “I think
everybody needs to think
seriously about canceling large
summer events. From my
perspective today, I don’t see
how we’re going to have large
gatherings of people, again,
until we have a vaccine, which
is months and months away.”
At 4:25, Los Angeles public
county health director Barbara
Ferrer said, “We’re going to
come out at the other end in a
matter of weeks,” but that of
course comes with the caveat
that Newsom, the governor in
her state, shot down the idea of
sports returning anytime soon
just a few days ago.
This decision is not just
going to be made by people in
college football.
This is to make two points.
First, there is a myriad of
opinions
and
information,
and it’s going too fast for
anyone to keep up. Making
a
coherent
prediction
out
of that is impossible, but on
aggregate,
it
doesn’t
look
good. Second, having college
sports requires everyone —
the federal government, 50
state governments, localities,
school administrators, coaches,
athletes themselves — to be on
the same page.
Does that seem likely to you
right now?
Sears can be reached at
searseth@umich.edu
or
on
Twitter @ethan_sears.
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Playing college football in 2020 could be difficult, with or without fans.
How Zach Charbonnet fits into a crowded running backs room
It only took one game
for
running
back
Zach
Charbonnet to draw lofty
comparisons.
Last August, the most
impressive
statistic
from
Charbonnet’s college debut
wasn’t his 90 rushing yards.
Rather, in Michigan’s 40-21
win over Middle Tennessee
State,
it
was
the
true
freshman’s
pass
blocking
that stood out most. He
picked up nine blitzes in as
many tries, showing strength
in an area of the game that
often keeps highly-touted
freshmen off the field.
He became the program’s
fourth true freshman to start
at running back in the season
opener since 1944, and he
left a lasting impression in
doing so.
“I don’t think we’ve had
a back get nine pickups in a
protection since we’ve been
here, one single back,” coach
Jim Harbaugh said at the
time. “And to be 100 percent,
nine out of nine, that’s like,
‘Wow.’ That’s really good. …
He just was handling it, with
not even a misstep. That’s
rare.
“I’ve had pro guys that
don’t
understand
the
protections
as
well
as
(Charbonnet) in this game.”
When tight ends coach
Sherrone Moore touched on
it later that week, he likened
Charbonnet to a former
college teammate of his own.
“I’ve only seen one other
freshman back block like
that, and that’s a guy I played
with,” Moore said. “That was
really impressive to watch,
nine-for-nine
in
pickups,
just go up and strike people
and never back down and
know who to block with all
the exotic pressures (Middle
Tennessee State) brought.”
The
other
freshman
back?
That
would
be
future NFL Hall-of-Famer
Adrian
Peterson,
who
played alongside Moore at
Oklahoma 15 years ago.
For
Charbonnet,
pass
blocking was only one bullet
point on a long list of tests
he aced as a true freshman.
After rehabbing a surgically-
repaired
meniscus
last
spring,
his
11
rushing
touchdowns
set
a
new
program
record among
freshman
running
backs.
On
his
way,
he
also
showed
glimpses as a
receiver
and
an ability to
get it done in short down-
and-distance situations.
Just
days
after
being
the subject of praise from
Harbaugh
and
Moore,
Charbonnet
followed
through with another big
game.
In
week
two,
he
posted
100 rushing
yards
and
three
touchdowns,
the
last
of
which
helped
Michigan
escape
unranked Army in double-
overtime.
The performance earned
him a Big Ten Freshman
of the Week nod, but the
33-carry workload took a
clear toll on his recently-
repaired
knee,
deviating
from
the
Wolverines’
preferred
running
back
by
committee
approach.
Charbonnet carried the ball
more than 15 times just once
over Michigan’s remaining
11 games, even though the
Wolverines’ coaching staff
insisted he was in good
health.
While Charbonnet’s ideal
career
trajectory
would
include a major bump in
usage this fall, it’s difficult
to
see
that
coming
to
fruition. He proved himself
as
a
capable
workhorse
back while at his best last
season, but the improvement
of
converted-linebacker
Hassan Haskins and the
return of suspended running
back
Chris
Evans
could
put a dent in Charbonnet’s
workload.
Over Michigan’s last five
games
in
2019,
Haskins
logged 62 carries compared
to Charbonnet’s 40. And
with the stakes at their
highest against top-ranked
Ohio State, it was Haskins
(12 rushes) who emerged
as the go-to guy — not
Charbonnet (four rushes).
In offensive coordinator
Josh
Gattis’
up-tempo
system,
having
multiple
starting-caliber
running
backs
works
in
the
Wolverines’
favor.
Even
if
his
carry
totals
dip,
Charbonnet’s
efficiency
stands
to
benefit
from
another offseason in the
weight room, the experience
of starting as a freshman
and
additional
time
to
recover from last year’s knee
surgery.
“You could just tell by the
way Zach carries himself,”
Moore said last September.
“He’s all about his business,
very mature for his age.
And, obviously, he’s a special
talent.”
In Charbonnet’s case, it’s
the little things that can
keep him on the field. And in
2020, all it might take is an
extra blitz pickup.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore running back Zach Charbonnet ran for 726 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman in 2019, impressing Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
He was just
handling it,
with not even a
misstep.
ETHAN
SEARS