Illini Football & CFB 2020

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#51      

Dan

Admin
"We're excited to play the No. 1 team in the country the opening week of the season. Until then, we have a lot of work to do."

Lovie: Informal workouts for about a month. Added walkthroughs last few weeks.

Lovie: Feel Champaign is as safe a place as you can be. Medical team has done a "super" job.

Lovie: No sytem is full-proof. It's still about compliance. Players tested daily, wearing masks and there are shields on helmets.

Lovie: We'll be trying to improve our roster until the time they tell us we can't.

Lovie on TreSean Smith: We were recruiting him. He chose to go elsewhere. He will not be joining our football team.

Lovie: Ricky Smalling won't be with us due to non-football issues

Lovie: We support Ra'Von Bonner's decision to opt out.

Lovie: Jake Cerny got married and graduated. Chose to move on with his life.

Lovie: Jake Hansen will our MLB, Milo Eifler will be our WLB, Khalan Tolson will be our SLB.

Lovie: Seth Coleman is 25 pounds heavier but it's "good weight"

Lovie: I'm excited about Daniel Bhebhe. We've had success with that family.

Lovie: We have one of the best offensive lines back in the country

Lovie: The excitement for football is still there.

Lovie said Illinois will request waivers for all sit-out transfers and thinks all have cases, especially with current circumstances. Sees a lot of transfers getting waivers.

Lovie: Ohio State "a great opportunity for a program like ours. ...We've knocked off some big teams in Memorial Stadium. We look forward to the opportunity."

Lovie Smith raves about Jake Hansen as a player, then adds: "From a personal note, just love the guy."

Lovie: I'm in the best shape I've been in a long time.

I'm just like everybody else. I have a mask on everywhere I go. I wash my hands. I keep social distance. I feel safe.

Lovie: I don't have my head in the sand. There's no given college football for sure will be played. But right now, they told us we could start practicing, so that's what we're going to do.

https://twitter.com/JWerner247

 
#53      
Lovie mentioned that they're waiting on three more players to arrive, implying that some are grad transfers. Any ideas who?
 
#59      
I wonder if UConn would even attempt to bring the football program back if a large portion of the team transferred
Hmmmmm . . . . Perhaps killing off a football team would be like a trophy in certain parts of our society. . . . maybe even a goal ?? Or at least looked upon as no big deal??
 
#60      
Is there anyone on the UConn football team that could make an impact on our roster this year? You have to feel for the team and staff at UConn. Go ILLINI!
 
#62      
I’m sure it’s probably already been said but I think getting Ohio State early could potentially be a blessing. We don’t really know how every team is going to come out looking during this pandemic, and we could have the chance to look more competitive in this game than we normally should.
 
#64      
I'll go ahead and say it: I don't understand why they haven't delayed the season to Spring semester. I get the pursuit of money, traditional season timing, etc., but most every expert puts the timeline for a vaccine around year-end, and what a difference that would make in safety, fan support, etc.. Just doesn't make sense to me in the current environment not to. College football has too many at-risk people involved in it to think there won't be fatalities as a result of putting "normal" timing ahead of safe timing. There's also the unknown issue of long-term affects for people who get it and recover.

This is a head-scratcher to me, but then again, so is the politicization of it. I'm rooting for the athletes not to be taken for granted in this one...

I agree with you 100%, Calvin.
 
#65      
Wouldn't delaying the season affect the timing on 2021? How would that work logistically?
 
#67      
I don't think so. You just don't have normal spring football practices.

So assuming you start end of January, you finish bowl season around June. So you are looking at 3 months to return from injury and what not? That seems like it could reallt hamper some teams in 2021(Illini will be travelling over seas too, though outlook in this game's future is hazy obviously)

From a fan perspective it would be nice I guess. I think you have to give kids with no eligibility after 2020 the option to defer to 2021 but honestly not expecting NCAA to step up when needed. Doesn't seem like there is any game plan whatsoever?
 
#70      
So assuming you start end of January, you finish bowl season around June. So you are looking at 3 months to return from injury and what not? That seems like it could reallt hamper some teams in 2021(Illini will be travelling over seas too, though outlook in this game's future is hazy obviously)

From a fan perspective it would be nice I guess. I think you have to give kids with no eligibility after 2020 the option to defer to 2021 but honestly not expecting NCAA to step up when needed. Doesn't seem like there is any game plan whatsoever?

Very limited fans in attendance (or none like Ped State) = massive decrease in revenue. No tailgating = decrease in revenue. Very few fans = decrease in revenue for host cities. Near certain guarantee that a team will come down with covid and games will be cancelled = decrease in revenue. If the "adults" playing baseball can't stay away from this how will a bunch of students? The obvious choice is to delay, hoping that spring is much more like normal. Risk is only that it's just as bad as it is now. Risk versus reward clearly says delay.

And in reality, if the NCAA and B1G really thought about our athletes rather than the dollar, they would have made this decision a long time ago. The first kid that dies from this will be a real tragedy, easily prevented. I know that most young people don't have the symptoms, but somewhere it will happen.
 
#72      
And in reality, if the NCAA and B1G really thought about our athletes rather than the dollar, they would have made this decision a long time ago. The first kid that dies from this will be a real tragedy, easily prevented. I know that most young people don't have the symptoms, but somewhere it will happen.

Agreed. Sadly, this is the America we live in.
 
#75      

illini80

Forgottonia
Agreed. Sadly, this is the America we live in.
I fully understand the point and sentiment, but in high school and college football there are 12 deaths on average every single year. Looking at it through the same perspective as COVID, should we even be playing football? My only point is the COVID risk needs to be considered relative to the risk of everyday life. I’m fine with spring ball and fully expect that is where we will end up. Football this fall, if there is any, will be a shell of a normal season anyway.

Anyone know when students will return to campus? My prediction is there will be a spike in cases shortly after that will doom the fall sports. Hope I’m wrong, because I’m as sick of this as anyone.
 
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