Jim Mora Jr. discusses the NCAA's plan to give players six weeks to prepare for football's return and whether, from a coaching standpoint, that's feasible.
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00:00Sports Illustrated spoke to many of the top decision makers in college football this week,
00:05and a big topic within many is the timeline. How much time is needed to build up before we can
00:11kick off the 2020 football season? And I think it's a fascinating question in and of itself,
00:16but let's bring in somebody who knows a little bit more about that at the NFL and collegiate level,
00:21Jim Mora Jr. Jim, starting with college, six weeks is sort of the bubble that it seems to
00:27be operating around. Is that enough time? How would you think of ramping up a program going
00:33from literally zero to 100 and being able to kick off? Well, I think six weeks is probably doable.
00:41I think there's a lot of factors you have to consider. Unlike the NFL, where this is a job
00:47and men are feeding their families, you can't count on every single player on your team at
00:52the collegiate level to come back whenever that may be and be in top condition. So you're going
00:58to have to consider that some of the players are going to need more time to get their bodies ready
01:04to play the physical game of football on a Saturday afternoon and compete at the highest level,
01:10and it's tough. It's emotionally difficult as well, but I think six weeks gives you enough
01:17time. I think that you would have to have a calendar set in place that gives them a period
01:24of time where they're working their bodies back into shape without contact. I think you'd have
01:28to have a period of time where you're restricting some contact. I think you do need some full
01:33contact at the collegiate level, but it seems to me that six weeks is enough time. At the pro
01:40level, I would say it's probably the same thing. If you want good quality football, if you want
01:46fans to tune in and say, this is young men that are prepared, this is fun to watch, it's exciting,
01:53there's good timing, then it's just going to take a little bit of time. I think that players would
01:57tell you, hey, we can step on the field tomorrow and we can hit it and get it, but I just don't
02:02know that that's practical. In terms of the risks, is it more on the conditioning side and rhythm,
02:10consistency, all of that chemistry, or is it more on the physicality of the game itself?
02:17In those six weeks, where do you focus more on? Is it purely being in shape or is it
02:22preparing guys, especially at the collegiate level, to be able to hit for four quarters?
02:26Well, I think you've got to do both. They do put some restrictions on the time that you can
02:31spend with your players in the offseason and in the preseason leading up to games. I think if they
02:37decide to open it and say, we're going to start playing in six weeks and they're probably going
02:40to need to adjust that time because you're going to need the time in the weight room,
02:44you're going to need the time in the meetings, you're going to need the time
02:48where you're out there and you're hitting each other a little bit and you're building up
02:53some gristle and you're building up a little bit of resistance to pain and bruises and working
02:59through some pains, you're going to have some injuries that are going to need to have recovery
03:03from. So I would think if they go with six weeks that they would expand the amount of time each day
03:10that you can work with your players. And I would think that coaches this day and age
03:14are smart enough to know that we can't just go pound our guys. They've got to have recovery time,
03:18but it can be active recovery. It can be recovery in a meeting where they're learning. It could be
03:22recovery in a film room where the lights are off and they're relaxed. You can create environments
03:27where they can learn, where you're not just wearing these guys out because they will wear
03:32out physically and emotionally. So there's a balance in there somewhere. I think most teams
03:37this day and age have team psychologists, they have nutritionists, their strength and conditioning
03:43coaches understand about recovery and rehab. Their training staffs have a good feel for their players
03:48and all of those people have to come together and collaborate along with the head coach in designing
03:54a program that gets their players peaked as much as they can for that first game.
04:00Quick hypothetical before we let you go. No restrictions,
04:04six-week timeline. You going two-a-days or no?
04:08Well, I'm going to go two-a-days to a certain extent, but one of those practices is going to
04:12be a light practice. It's going to be a mental practice. It might not be a walkthrough. It might
04:16be a jog through where you're keeping the offense and the defense separate. You have to have
04:21repetitions running these plays, getting timing, get a feel for each other and how you fit in a
04:28play in order to be effective running that play. So I'm going to have some two-a-days,
04:32I'm going to have some one-a-days. I think you're going to work in some days off. I think it's
04:38really important as a coach that you listen to your strength and conditioning coach, you listen
04:41to your trainees, you listen to your nutritionist, you listen to your team psychologist, you listen
04:46to your rehab specialist, you listen to your team leaders. As a coach, you have to sometimes back
04:54off a little bit, but you have to be able to teach, you have to be able to give them an
04:59opportunity to learn, you have to build some gristle, you have to build some toughness,
05:03you have to build some team chemistry, you have to build some timing. So is it tough? Yeah. Is
05:09it doable? Absolutely. Is it a great challenge? Yes. Do college coaches embrace challenges?
05:14College coaches love challenges. Jim Moore, breaking down with coaches,
05:19coast-to-coast are dealing with really at every single level
05:23of football. Thanks for being with us. My pleasure, John.