Barring some kind of drastic change Arizona knows it will not be playing a football game until at least January 2021. It was certainly sobering news for the coaching staff and players when the Pac-12 announced that it would be postponing all competition for the fall season.
The Wildcats had already brought its team back to campus when the news was announced, so the plan that had been in place and set to ramp up this week with the focus on a fall season is no longer there.
UA has been using the 20 hours per week that is allowed by the Pac-12 under the current conditions, but there is a hope within the league that it will grow into something resembling a normal practice later in the year.
However it shakes out Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin still wants his players to utilize the extra time they now have available to improve and prepare for the potential spring season.
"You're not just moving on, what you are doing is we are in the process of going through team development," Sumlin said during a Zoom virtual media session with reporters Tuesday. "What we're doing in the offseason, how we've approached strength and conditioning, our newcomers really just got involved in the last week or so. So, we've been on the field with them.
"We were on the field with the guys that were here the last two weeks in really an NFL-style OTA (organized team activities) model."
Sumlin added that the process will be about keeping the players engaged as they continue to move ahead in the process. That will also be important for coaches and staff members who he believes have to get used to a new way of going through the offseason than they are used to.
"Many times athletes, coaches, trainers train for that particular season," he said. "... So everything is put into a timeline, 'alright here's when we start, here's what we're looking for this season.' As a coach and a competitor, what we've talked about is this is completely different. So, you have to continue to train and not necessarily prepare for a certain opponent but prepare for the next opportunity that you're going to get of which you don't know when that happens.
"Is that difficult? Yes. That's what they pay us to do as coaches. You're gonna have to change some coaches' mindset, too, when that happens. ... What we are doing now is we are in the process of working through what we're doing during the week to continue to develop our football team physically, mentally, socially and emotionally to be honest with you."
Disappointment was one of the emotions Sumlin and his staff had to deal with after the announcement about the postponed season was made, but that quickly turned to a sense of determination to improve from his players led by sophomore quarterback Grant Gunnell who is in line to be the starter whenever the Wildcats are next able to hit the field.
"My teammates and I took the decision hard: We're competitors," Gunnell said in a statement last week. "It's what we live for. But we also know that perspective is important, and will look at this as an opportunity.
"Our team, our coaches, and our staff are committed to becoming stronger together than we've ever imagined we could be. And when our time comes, we will be ready to represent what it means to be an Arizona Wildcat."
The NCAA is expected to approve a 12-hour practice model for the fall that would give some structure to teams like Arizona that play in a conference that opted out of a fall season. Typically teams are allowed to have 20 hours together per week during the season while offseason workouts are kept to eight hours per week. Five of the 12 hours would be used for on-field work with helmets but without contact.
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