Normal Start to Fall Camp? More Like Partial Normal
STILLWATER -- What is normal? After just short of five months dealing with COVID-19 and all the protocols, protections, and changes that have come with it, do we even know what normal feels like anymore? I know this that over 100 players dressed out in helmets, jersey, and shorts is what the first day of fall camp looks like. The offense is wearing orange jerseys to coincide with the home colored jersey that quarterback Spencer Sanders targets will be wearing when the first game rolls around, as of now it appears that will be Tulsa and likely on Sept. 12.
The defense wearing white jerseys to contrast the offense. Okay, normal. Then you see everybody without a helmet wearing masks, including the coaching staff. Players wearing helmets that haves shields and on the lower part of their face masks, a clear shield called a "splash shield". Not normal.
Welcome to fall camp in a pandemic.
"We just finished up," said associate head coach and offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn, who added he had been asked to step in by head coach Mike Gundy. Gundy was at the practice but is still dealing with family matters after his mother, Judy, passed away on Sunday. "It was a good practice. You know guys ran around and played well, It was good just to be out there again. There was some sort of normalcy, yell at some guys a little bit, and then watch a few dudes run out and make some plays. That is pretty much what we got after today. It was short and it was sweet."
"It was good to put some cleats on and run around," added senior linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.
You know that Dunn had to be excited because it was his fourth practice as Oklahoma State offensive coordinator. He had three in the spring before it was cut short. Wednesday was his fourth.
The fun thing about Dunn and we had heard this even prior to the spring that while he was excited to become offensive coordinator, he was grudgingly given up some of his time coaching the wide receivers. Kasey Dunn loves coaching receivers and at Oklahoma State that has shown. He had a few new ones on the first day including 6-5 grad transfer from LSU in Dee Anderson and last year's Oklahoma High School Player of the Year in Bixby speedster Brennan Presley.
"It's fun getting those guys out and going," Dunn said. "Dee is definitely going to make an impact this year. Brayden (Johnson) and Dee (Anderson) are competing for that X spot right now. Tylan (Wallace) is shoring up that Z, and Dillon (Stoner) is inside along with Landon (Wolf). I feel really good where we are as a receiver corps right now. Those guys are fantastic and the new guys like Dee are blending into the fabric of what we do here at Oklahoma State and the young guys too. It's a great young group of receivers for us, good dudes. Brennan is obviously a special player and he is going to be a good player for Oklahoma State for a long time. He is probably going to have wait his turn. It will be pretty hard to unseat Dillon."
All that talk, that's normal. Talking about the established players and how talented the newcomers are, but how hard it will be for the young pups in the position group to earn time with the veterans, that is normal fall camp.
What hasn't been normal, especially, is the lead up to fall camp. Summer in Stillwater and the Oklahoma State campus is slower and less populated. Players spend lots of time together, team bonding goes on when there are less people and other students around, especially girlfriends. This summer there were less people around for sure, but there were more rules keeping players from congregating and spending time around each other.
"It's kind of tough, obviously, being six feet apart from each other," wide receiver Tylan Wallace said.
So, how together do the players feel? Are they as familiar with each other, as bonded as a team is normally coming off the summer months?
"Probably not as much as we have been in the past due to everything," wide receiver Tylan Wallace admitted. "We try to make worth with what we can. We try to get to know them as much as we can. We try to hang out as much as we can with all the rules that are set in place. It is a little tougher to get to know the guys when you can't be around them all the time."
Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez feels it's a little more like normal.
"I fell like it is the same, we have our mask on but we can still talk six feet away," said Rodriguez, who is sporting a longer blond hairstyle. It is something he said was born out of the boredom of quarantine. Rodriguez did have COVID-19 back in June.
"I feel like we are all bonded, have known each other for awhile, and have that chemistry," added Rodriguez. "Most of the guys, we all play Call of Duty, so it's not like we are separated forever. We all play Call of Duty and we still talk outside of football when we are all together."
Now a part of it that is positive as Rodriguez agreed with a statement the head coach did make is that the team is even more prepared from an X and O standpoint with all the Zoom meetings and walk thrus.
"Going over everything on Zoom, yes sir, we were staying in contact on Zoom," Rodriguez said of familiarity with teammates and also with game plan concepts.
The first practice, as hardcore fans know well, is the start of acclimatization with no pads. The practice will be the same on Thursday and then shoulder pads get added to the mix on Friday. While we are back on equipment, let's revisit those "splash shields." Those are something completely new with COVID-19 and will take some getting used to. They fog up with heavy breathing and football does have some heavy breathing.
"I'm not saying I'm a big fan of it, but you have to do what you have to do in order to play football," added Wallace. "If that's what I have to do then I'll do it. I'm used to wearing a pacifier mouth guard and I can't do that or it will fog the mask all the way up."
"It's a little harder to breathe (with the added shields), but as I said the procedures here are tight and they are doing everything to make it safe for us," said Rodriguez.
Masks, constant disinfecting, all of the protocols. It's the new normal of fall camp and now let's hope that new normal leads to a new normal football season, which I thing Dunn, Wallace, Rodriguez, all of the Cowboys and all of us hope to have the opportunity to get used to.
