University of Richmond coach Russ Huesman welcomes a spring football season, just not too much of one.
Huesman said Tuesday that he wants nothing happening in the spring that jeopardizes a normal start for the 2021 season. So about six spring games that end in April with no FCS playoffs seems about right to him. Players, Huesman believes, have sufficient recovery time in that scenario.
“My personal opinion is it’s too hard to play eight games and playoffs, and go into the middle of May, and then show up in August and [open in early September],” Huesman said during a webinar sponsored by the UR Alumni Association and the Spider Athletic Fund. “Do I think we could get six conference games in, in some capacity, and maybe play a conference championship game? I think you could probably do that and finish it up by early April.”
A spring season that could, with playoffs participation, extend to mid-May would physically be too much on players if their programs intend to start next season at the usual time, which Huesman believes should be the priority.
“Unless the virus is just out of whack and we’re in just the same exact situation we’re in right now, we’re going to play football in the spring,” said Huesman. “What that’s going to be, I think part of that is going to depend on what happens this fall.
"If the SEC and the ACC play, and the other conferences play -- the Big 12 and the AAC and all of the other ones -- if they play this fall and they get a season in, our spring will look different than if they don’t play and now everybody’s planning on playing in the spring.”
The Spiders returned to on-campus classes on Aug. 24, but it may be three weeks to a month before any full-scale football practices take place. The NCAA has mandated re-acclimation stages for players, who have been away from supervised strength-and-conditioning workouts since mid-March.
“Now that they’re back, I think they’ll be motivated. They’re competitors. They’re athletes. They want to be the best they can be,” said Huesman. “Right now, you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel because spring is so far away. But I do think when we get the opportunity to get them out as a team, I think that’s going to be a relief for them, where we can be out there in helmets and maybe do some football activities.”
All players receive an uncounted year of eligibility by the NCAA, so Richmond is expected to have six sixth-year players next fall.
joconnor@timesdispatch.com
8/26/20
