August 29, 2008

SEC coaches: Can we practice against DI-AA?

Although some may say they are already doing it in the regular season, the notion of scrimmaging against DI-AA teams in the college football preseason has a few SEC coaches intrigued, according to Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

"Is this something you've heard in conversation somewhere?" Tuberville asked me Wednesday during the SEC coaches' first teleconference of the regular season.

...

"If we could set it up the way we want to, that would be great," Croom said. "You don't have to stick to a game schedule. You can evaluate and critique a young man. It's not a bad idea at all. It would make it interesting for the players. I can tell you from coaching in the NFL (as a Green Bay Packers assistant among other stops) that you get tired of practicing against each other after a week or two."

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer also backs the idea.

"I think we ought to scrimmage like the pros do in preseason so you don't have 22 starters out there at the same time with great risk," he said. "It would improve the energy in practice preparing for somebody.

"You can be careful (from injuries) in preseason all you want, and then you question whether you're ready or not."

The whole notion is really intriguing, especially the element of playing a scrimmage against a DI-AA, so that a coach could measure the team's progress or identify which players are "gamers".

"You're looking to grade your team, and it's hard to do it against yourselves," Tuberville said. "Our last scrimmage it was kind of a marshmallow contest. Our defense didn't go full speed, and neither did our offensive guys.

"We should be able to do something (about bringing in a D 1-AA team for practice)," Tuberville said. "With all the money we've got coming in (in the SEC), we should be able to bring a team in for couple of days, put them in a dorm and work out with them."

But the idea is not without its detractors.

"I'd be completely opposed to that because we have classes," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "We have enough media and Internet coverage. What happens when a freshman drops a ball?"

All in all, I think it would probably be a good idea for more teams to scrimmage one another in the preseason. I don't think it has to be DI-AA, but I suppose that's the "safety zone" since there is a lower probability that the practice notes would trickle into a future opponents hands.

The first team to pull this off -- presuming that they would open it to the public in some capacity -- is going to mint a ton of money at the ticket gate and concessions. Just as spring game attendance has seen an increase, I think the prospect of seeing your team against a "preseason" opponent would be too hard for the faithful to pass up.

Comments:

SEC coaches: Can we practice against DI-AA?
Although some may say they are already doing it in the regular season, the notion of scrimmaging against DI-AA teams in the college football preseason has a few SEC coaches intrigued, according to Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Is this something you've heard in conversation somewhere?" Tuberville asked me Wednesday during the SEC coaches' first teleconference of the regular season. ... "If we could set it up the way we want to, that would be great," Croom said. "You don't have to stick to a game schedule. You can evaluate and critique a young man. It's not a bad idea at all. It would make it interesting for the players. I can tell you from coaching in the NFL (as a Green Bay Packers assistant among other stops) that you get tired of practicing against each other after a week or two." Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer also backs the idea. "I think we ought to scrimmage like the pros do in preseason so you don't have 22 starters out there at the same time with great risk," he said. "It would improve the energy in practice preparing for somebody. "You can be careful (from injuries) in preseason all you want, and then you question whether you're ready or not."
The whole notion is really intriguing, especially the element of playing a scrimmage against a DI-AA, so that a coach could measure the team's progress or identify which players are "gamers".
"You're looking to grade your team, and it's hard to do it against yourselves," Tuberville said. "Our last scrimmage it was kind of a marshmallow contest. Our defense didn't go full speed, and neither did our offensive guys. "We should be able to do something (about bringing in a D 1-AA team for practice)," Tuberville said. "With all the money we've got coming in (in the SEC), we should be able to bring a team in for couple of days, put them in a dorm and work out with them."
But the idea is not without its detractors.
"I'd be completely opposed to that because we have classes," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "We have enough media and Internet coverage. What happens when a freshman drops a ball?"
All in all, I think it would probably be a good idea for more teams to scrimmage one another in the preseason. I don't think it has to be DI-AA, but I suppose that's the "safety zone" since there is a lower probability that the practice notes would trickle into a future opponents hands. The first team to pull this off -- presuming that they would open it to the public in some capacity -- is going to mint a ton of money at the ticket gate and concessions. Just as spring game attendance has seen an increase, I think the prospect of seeing your team against a "preseason" opponent would be too hard for the faithful to pass up.