As of late, there has been a lot of doubt about playing college football this fall. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have already suspended their seasons.
However, a group of coaches and players continue to lobby for the season to be played.
Justin Fields Makes Petition
Ohio State quarterback, Justin Fields, is one of the biggest names in college football. He would have likely been a Heisman finalist this season, but the Big Ten was the first conference to cancel the season.
He is working on a petition to force the Big Ten to consider reinstating the 2020 season. As of Monday afternoon, this petition had over 250,000 signatures.
“My biggest message to them would just be to get them to realize how bad our players want to play and just the guys that are coming back for their fifth year, coming back off of injury, I think that we owe it to those guys the most,” Fields said.
Many players have talked about the idea that players are safer on campus. The coronavirus can be contracted anywhere, so the best place to be might be with the team.
If they are practicing social distancing, wearing masks when applicable, and regularly getting tests, that would be a better situation than them not playing.
“I felt like if we had a season, I would be safer than if we didn’t have a season, which might sound crazy to some people, but I do,” Ohio State center Josh Myers said. “Everybody that I come into contact with, if we have a season, is getting tested twice a week, they’re in the cleanest of areas, and as a player on a team, you don’t want to be the guy that gets it because you were being a fool and you were out somewhere you shouldn’t be.”
Coaches Seem to Agree
If it happens, there will be plenty of variables for the college football season. But all of the college coaches seem to be behind doing the work to get it done.
Some popular coaches in the league are starting to show their support for a season to be played.
“I want to play, but I want to play for the players’ sake, the value they can create for themselves,” Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban told ESPN. “I know I’ll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don’t care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home. We have around a 2 percent positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of the July. It’s a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can’t get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they’re in a bar or just hanging out.”
It seems there will not be fans, but that hasn’t changed their minds. Dabo Swinney of Clemson recently said they just wanted to play ball, fans or no fans.