Playing or not playing? Uncertainty of a season looms over NC State’s football team.
The past 10 days or so have been a lot to take in — especially for college athletes.
The state of North Carolina started last week dealing with Hurricane Isaias, which made landfall Aug. 3 in Ocean Isle Beach, and was followed on Aug. 9 by an earthquake that was centered in Sparta and felt as far east as Raleigh.
On the same day as the earthquake, N.C State football players went through the emotions of thinking their season could be canceled after several conferences discussed not having a season.
The next day, N.C. State classes began and with that came uncertainty about navigating a college atmosphere in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s a lot.
“These guys are going through it,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren told members of the media on a Zoom call Wednesday. “I think the first thing you have to do is admit that. You have to be vulnerable with them, you have to listen, you have to talk to them. Just letting them talk and ask questions, letting you know that you care about them, just being on the same page.”
The Wolfpack is a week into fall camp. When practice started on Aug. 4., the 2020 season looked promising. The ACC released its updated football schedule. s came out later and playing this fall looked even more realistic. Then the storm (literally and figuratively) arrived.
However, by Sunday evening, reports started surfacing that FBS conferences, including the ACC, were expected to postpone their fall seasons, including football. The Big Ten and Pac-12 announced this week that they won’t play football this fall. The ACC, for now, still says it will play.
But its been an emotional ride for the Wolfpack players.
“We have to be good at change,” Doeren said. “Knowing that there are a lot of questions, you have to let them ask them.”
N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan allowed players to ask those questions on Tuesday. Corrigan met with the team at Tuesday morning and addressed, as best he could, where things stood.
Football players return to classes
The ACC released a statement on Tuesday saying the league will continue to make decisions based on the medical advice from the conference’s medical advisory group.
For now, practices are still on and all sights are set on the Sept. 12 season opener at Virginia Tech.
“Our protocols, day in and day out, have done really well,” Doeren said. “The testing, the mask wearing, the cleanliness, the spacing. The way we are using our meeting rooms and spacing guys, the way that we are doing our practices and splitting the team when we can in different groups and keeping the numbers small.”
Classes started on Monday, which meant the players had to leave the comforts of the Murphy Center for the first time. Doeren talked to some players and got feedback from their first day maneuvering around campus with the rest of their peers.
“There were some questions about how those classes would be, I think they were nervous,” Doeren said. “The guys that I talked to that had class yesterday were very happy with the set up they had in their classrooms, they are OK with it. Haven’t heard from one player yet that didn’t feel that way, so that was positive.”
Weekly coronavirus tests
Football players take COVID-19 tests weekly, senior AD for communications Fred Demarest, told the N&O Wednesday morning. But even Doeren acknowledges how quickly things can change, stating they were excited about “this hour” but knows things can change in a hurry.
Doeren is in communication with either Corrigan or Demarest daily. That’s the best way for him to get updates and stay in the “loop” with what’s happening. The players asked Corrigan how long they will have to wait before they know if they will play this season or not.
“That’s the hardest thing for all these young people right now,” Doeren said. “They really struggle with the unknown. Tell them they are playing or tell them they’re not playing. They might not like not playing but at least they know. If they are sitting there thinking you are playing and the next day you’re not, then you are, then you’re not. That’s hard on the mental well-being of these guys.”
If the season is canceled, Doeren said the biggest fear among the team is that it will be a replay of March. The football team was five days into spring practices when schools and sports shut down and players returned home, and were on their own until June.
The focus now, through all the ups and downs, is to focus on Week One of the season. Doeren said time spent on the practice field has been a getaway, adding that the camp has been fun.
“There’s just a good vibe here with our guys and our staff,” Doeren said. “That’s what’s making it hard for us is these guys are really enjoying it and they want to play. That’s what makes the uncertainty hard.”
