John Garcia and Jim Mora discuss what a safe return to college football will entail.
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00:00 Sports Illustrated spoke to many of the top decision makers in college football this week,
00:05 and a big topic within many is the timeline. How much time is needed to build up before we can
00:11 kick off the 2020 football season? And I think it's a fascinating question in and of itself,
00:16 but let's bring in somebody who knows a little bit more about that at the NFL and collegiate level,
00:21 Jim Mora Jr. Jim, starting with college, six weeks is sort of the bubble that it seems to
00:27 be operating around. Is that enough time? How would you think of ramping up a program going
00:33 from literally zero to 100 and being able to kick off? Well, I think six weeks is probably doable.
00:41 I think there's a lot of factors you have to consider. Unlike the NFL, where this is a job
00:47 and men are feeding their families, you can't count on every single player on your team at
00:52 the collegiate level to come back whenever that may be and be in top condition. So you're going
00:58 to have to consider that some of the players are going to need more time to get their bodies ready
01:04 to play the physical game of football on a Saturday afternoon and compete at the highest level. And
01:10 it's tough. It's emotionally difficult as well, but I think six weeks gives you enough time. I
01:17 think that you would have to have a calendar set in place that gives them a period of time where
01:24 they're working their bodies back into shape without contact. I think you'd have to have a
01:29 period of time where you're restricting some contact. I think you do need some full contact
01:34 at the collegiate level, but it seems to me that six weeks is enough time. At the pro level, I
01:41 would say it's probably the same thing. If you want good quality football, if you want fans to
01:46 tune in and say, "This is young men that are prepared. This is fun to watch. It's exciting.
01:53 There's good timing." Then it's just going to take a little bit of time. I think that players would
01:57 tell you, "Hey, we can step on the field tomorrow and we can hit it and get it." But I just don't
02:02 know that that's practical. Yeah. In terms of the risks, is it more on the conditioning side and
02:10 rhythm, consistency, all of that chemistry, or is it more on the physicality of the game itself?
02:16 Like where in those six weeks, where do you focus more on? Is it purely being in shape or is it
02:22 preparing guys, especially at the collegiate level, to be able to hit for four quarters?
02:26 Well, I think you've got to do both. They do put some restrictions on the time that you can spend
02:31 with your players in the off season and in the preseason leading up to games. I think if they
02:36 decide to open it and say, "We're going to start playing in six weeks," then they're probably going
02:40 to need to adjust that time because you're going to need the time in the weight room. You're going
02:44 to need the time in the meetings. You're going to need the time where you're out there and you're
02:50 hitting each other a little bit and you're building up some gristle and you're building
02:54 up a little bit of resistance to pain and bruises and working through some pains. You're going to
03:00 have some injuries that you're going to need to have recovery from. So I would think if they go
03:05 with six weeks that they would expand the amount of time each day that you can work with your
03:11 players. And I would think that coaches this day and age are smart enough to know that we can't
03:15 just go pound our guys. They've got to have recovery time, but it can be active recovery.
03:20 It can be recovery in a meeting where they're learning. It could be recovery in a film room
03:24 where the lights are off and they're relaxed. You can create environments where they can learn,
03:28 where you're not just wearing these guys out because they will wear out physically and
03:33 emotionally. So there's a balance in there somewhere. I think most teams this day and age
03:39 have team psychologists, they have nutritionists, their strength and conditioning coaches understand
03:44 about recovery and rehab. Their training staffs have a good feel for their players and all of
03:49 those people have to come together and collaborate along with the head coach in designing a program
03:55 that gets their players peaked as much as they can for that first game.
03:59 - Quick hypothetical before we let you go. No restrictions, six week timeline. You going
04:06 two a days or no?
04:06 - Well, I'm going to go two a days to a certain extent, but one of those practices is going to be
04:12 a light practice. It's going to be a mental practice. It might not be a walkthrough, it might
04:16 be a jog through where you're keeping the offense and the defense separate. You have to have
04:21 repetitions running these plays, getting timing, get a feel for each other and how you fit in a
04:28 play in order to be effective running that play. So I'm going to have some two a days. I'm going
04:32 to have some one a days. I think you're going to work in some days off. I think it's really
04:38 important as a coach that you listen to your strength and conditioning coach. You listen to
04:42 your trainees, you listen to your nutritionist, you listen to your team psychologist, you listen
04:46 to your rehab specialist, you listen to your team leaders. As a coach, you have to sometimes back
04:54 off a little bit, but you have to be able to teach. You have to be able to give them an opportunity
05:00 to learn. You have to build some gristle. You have to build some toughness. You have to build
05:04 some team chemistry. You have to build some timing. So is it tough? Yeah. Is it doable?
05:10 Absolutely. Is it a great challenge? Yes. Do college coaches embrace challenges?
05:14 College coaches love challenges. Jim Moore, breaking down what coaches
05:19 coast to coast are dealing with really at every single level of football. Thanks for being with us.
05:25 My pleasure, John.
05:26 [silence]
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