Jaguar Report

Members of Jaguars Reflect on College Football Situation and What It Means For NFL

Two of the Power 5 conferences have canceled their fall season. What does that mean for the NFL's next season? And how do current Jacksonville Jaguars feel about the possibility of canceling the beloved college football?

Kassidy Hill

The fate of College Football for the 2020 season has garnered the attention of rapid fans, casual fans, national news and even the President of the United States. Another entity watching closely? The National Football League.

“I’m anxious to see what the resolution of the college season is,” Jacksonville Jaguars General Manager Dave Caldwell told reporters on Aug. 11 during the club’s Week 2 of training camp.

Most college conferences are holding on to their Labor Day weekend kickoff. The SEC has postponed to September 26 but the Big Ten and Pac-12 have officially canceled their fall season.

When the Pac-12 announced their decision, Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II —a product of PAC-12 program Washington State — felt a responsibility to help ease any pain possible being felt by his former teammates.

“I reached out to a couple guys and I’m probably going to reach out to a couple more to see how they’re doing,” Minshew told reporters on Aug. 12..

“I know the amount of work that they put in. I know how bad this sucks, especially for those older guys that don’t know what the future holds right now, don’t know if they’re going to have their senior year at all, don’t know if they get the year back or what. So really, just feeling for those guys. Hope they come to resolution sooner rather than later. I just told them to keep their head up and if there’s anything I can help them with, I’d love to help.”

The Big 10 and Pac-12 are holding on to hope for a spring season, which would inevitably require a change to the NFL Combine annually held in February, the annual late April NFL Draft, Pro Day's at the end of March and all offseason workouts.

The NFL Combine, which helped the Jags see 1st rounder Henderson up close, could be changed due to college football situation. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Already bracing for the possibility of a truncated evaluation time—or possibly no 2020 evaluation tape at all—Caldwell feels he and other GM’s will look more to those players whom they already know…which will of course leave some in the cold.

“As far as the scouting goes, I know some conferences have canceled. There’s talk of other conferences canceling. Obviously, we have done our homework on a lot of these guys already. The players with play history and a lot of video out there, we can make good, educated decisions on," Caldwell said. 

“It will probably hurt some of the smaller school players or guys like K’Lavon Chaisson, who missed his sophomore year and came out junior [year]. Maybe you will see less junior [year players] come out and then wait to play their senior year.”

The Jaguars used two of their first three picks in the 2020 NFL Draft on players that left early following their junior year: first-round corner CJ Henderson and second-round receiver Laviska Shenault. Meanwhile, Chaisson left with two years of eligibility left. 

Having that final year to put on tape can make or break a career, as Caldwell alluded. No one knows that better than Minshew, and it’s why he’s hurting for those currently in the lose-lose situation in college football.

“Without that year at Washington State, I wouldn’t have been drafted, I probably would’ve gone undrafted. So, it’s truly a blessing. I couldn’t have imagined having– if I wouldn’t have had that, don’t know, my life would’ve been way different," Minshew said. 

"So, [I’m] definitely fortunate, blessed, whatever you want to call it. But I’m extremely grateful for where I am and I hate it, it makes me hate it that much more for those guys that are in that situation this year.”

Minshew credits his year at WSU to getting him drafted. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

It’s likely only the NFL’s 2021 offseason that Caldwell feels will be affected by whatever the various college football conferences decide for this fall. The Southeastern Conference elected to push kickoff weekend back to September 26 largely to allow time to see what happens when the NFL kicks off and how the league handles travel and close proximity in games.

Other conferences though are holding on to hopes of starting on time. Among the remaining Power 5 playing (outside of the SEC), the Big XII will be kicking off the same weekend as the NFL—the September 12-13 weekend. The ACC will be starting on Labor Day weekend. Caldwell says whatever happens with the ACC in relation to COVID-19 cases, won’t have much impact on the NFL.

“I think it’s two separate situations and protocols with the NFL and the resources that we have with the NFL and how we’re handling our business," Caldwell said. "You have to give a lot of credit to the league office and the plan they put together. You can really see it working on a day-to-day basis when you come in the building.

"I feel confident we’re going to have football and our building; we’d like to think everybody is taking care of their business and doing the right thing. Hopefully that continues throughout the league. As far as college goes, you feel bad for the athletes and guys that put so much work into it and they have to make their own decisions, obviously.”

The NFL and NFLPA worked extensively over the offseason to set new protocols for training camp and the season to account for the pandemic. But college football—even with extensive testing (three times a week in the SEC), heart monitoring and various new health standards—has hit a roadblock due to the fact that essentially centers around amateurism.

With college players labeled as amateurs and the NCAA continuing to maintain they are normal students, the conferences can’t place the athletes into a bubble like the pro sports have done. It would ruin the illusion and give the players a greater argument for their worth when they ask for a revenue sharing program that extends beyond a scholarship.

It also means the NCAA and conferences would have to assume liability and responsibility for any player that does contract COVID-19 while playing football.

“I’m sure their challenges are a whole lot greater than our challenges,” agreed head coach Doug Marrone on Aug. 10.

“We have a bunch of guys that, it’s their job and their profession. It’s a little bit better of a control of environment for them. There’s a lot of empathy I have for the people, I know there’s great fans, great sponsors, and great support.”

Some of the game's biggest names like Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields have asked for more uniform medical protocols for players to be set in place as well as a union — like the NFLPA — to be established for college players. This would give those athletes a greater voice in the decisions that go into playing a season currently and in the future.

It’s a difficult balance to strike for the young athletes—choosing between playing the game they love and need to achieve their dreams versus weighing the dangers of contracting the virus themselves or carrying it to a family member. It’s one that Jags nickel D.J. Hayden is grateful he doesn’t have to make any longer, but one with which he sympathizes.

“Would I play? Me back in college probably would’ve played because I love football that much, me sitting around not doing much is just going to be like, ‘What am I going to do with myself? Should I get a job?’ I want to play football. A lot of those kids go to school for football," Hayden said. 

“I do understand the whole health aspect just because [COVID-19] does affect different people in different ways and it could impact someone’s life seriously. It’s so up and down, but for them to cancel the season? I didn’t think they would cancel the season but hey, safety first and football will always be here, but we have to take care of ourselves first.”

Football will always be here, in some capacity. The thought of losing it even for a short time though has shook many an observer, coach and most notably, many a player. The college football situation is fluid and could change one hundred more times between now and kickoff. Whatever happens will touch the NFL in some way, most likely in the next offseason, forcing pre-draft practices and possibly the NFL Draft itself. 

For the time being, however, Marrone echos Hayden. The picture extends beyond football—college or professional—and before enjoying the sport once again, the larger problem must be addressed.

Says Marrone, “It’s not just sports. It’s not just football, it’s all sports, it’s for all clubs, you feel that for everyone. Again, we’re trying to conquer this virus. It’s a difficult time for a lot of people, and it makes you look back and maybe we have taken some things for granted. The ability to go out there, the ability to play, the ability to be a part of this.” 

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Kassidy Hill
KASSIDY HILL

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