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FAYETTEVILLE — The SEC has yet to play in 2020, but if the other games across the country so far are any indication, it’s going to be a weird college football season.
In the FCS kickoff game last month, COVID-19 prevented Austin Peay from bringing a long snapper and it led to a loss to Central Arkansas.
Just this past weekend, Arkansas State managed to beat Kansas State despite missing 11 players from its two-deep - including multiple starters - and playing a walk-on third-string tight end both ways. Oklahoma and Georgia Southern were also without 20 and 33 players, respectively.
Schools aren’t revealing how many of those absences are because of positive tests or contact tracing, but it’s highly likely that a majority of them are out due to the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. That has made depth even more important in a sport that already preaches “next-man-up” in the event of an injury.
“If you’re a second-team guy, you’re a play away from being a starter, and now the same thing with the third-team guy,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom said. “Whatever you are on the depth chart, you’ve got to prepare like you’re the starter.”
Even though they haven’t played a game yet, the Razorbacks have certainly felt the impact of COVID-19 this preseason.
The UA has not revealed data for how many players have been sidelined and has told the media not to report on missing players or position groups that are light in numbers during practice viewing periods, but sources have indicated to HawgBeat that several have missed chunks of camp.
Odom seemingly confirmed the challenge of working around those things when he spoke during Arkansas’ virtual kickoff luncheon Friday.
“You never know how Plan A is going to be, so get Plan B and Plan C ready,” Odom said. “That’s been so true as we’ve been through the virus and how that’s adjusted our practice schedules and the number of guys throughout (camp).”
As of Monday, though, the Razorbacks haven’t needed to reschedule any practices. All teams haven’t been that lucky, as Tennessee experienced earlier this month when it had to cancel a scrimmage with 44 players unavailable.
One reason for that, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles said, is the amount of walk-ons able to step in and fill roles when those ahead of them on the depth chart are out.
“We’re going to need every single player on this team,” Briles said. “We’re blessed to have a lot of guys that paying their own way to go to school here, because those guys are extremely valuable to be able to get through practices, to run and do the things that you need to do on a daily basis once you get into scout teams and all those sorts of things.”
Dealing with the unknowns of 2020 has been difficult for first-year head coach Sam Pittman, but he has consistently taken a glass-half-full approach to the challenge.
Even the possibility of losing an entire position group or multiple starters and backups because of COVID-19 can be spun as a positive for an Arkansas program trying to turn things around.
“I think this year more than any gives an opportunity for a young man that might be a third-team guy to go ‘Hey, you know, coming up Saturday I may be on the first team,’” Pittman said. “I think more than ever, you’re maintaining the attention of all the fellas at all different levels on the depth chart.
“If you’re maintaining attention, you’re obviously going to have a chance to be a better football team. It’s worked in different ways, but every day is a new day, every day is a new situation.”
