As Football Season Draws Near, Sooners Embrace Unique Circumstances

Just over a week from the dawn of their 2020 season, the Sooners continue to hold out hope that their university's safety measures will prove successful enough to preserve the season. On a campus that boasts tens of thousands of students, trying to prevent an outbreak is a daunting task, and to some, masks and social distancing policies seem as useful as covering a broken window with plastic wrap.

Early impressions from players, however, are positive.

“So far, classroom-wise, I’m really proud of what OU is doing," said defensive end Nik Bonitto. "Just really the little stuff, them trying to keep us safe. I feel really safe going into these classrooms knowing that they’re taking the proper procedures to keep us safe.”

In addition to its mask mandate and classroom distancing efforts, the university currently offers free COVID-19 testing at the Goddard Health Center. A university press release Wednesday indicated that further expansions to testing policies and detection strategies are forthcoming.

“It’s a little different walking around with a mask on all day," said H-back Brayden Willis. "But that’s just part of the deal.”

The mask ordeal understandably presented a bit of a challenge for transfer wideout Obi Obialo, who had to learn names and faces as he grew acclimated within the program. It obviously wasn't easy to identify his new teammates amidst a campus mask mandate, but Obialo found other means to build recognition.

“After the first week, I kind of got used to it - their eyes, and the way people move and stuff like that," he said.

Another challenge that players faced was the forced alteration of workout regimens and training routines. During quarantine, many had to find creative ways to stay in shape, or rely on their home exercise equipment.

"I feel like a lot of people across the board had to adjust to what they had to do," said Bonitto. "Me, personally, I didn’t have a lot of gyms open. I either had to go out with my uncle and train with him or lift weights with my dad and in my garage and things like that. We had to change a lot of stuff up. But we did what we could."

Amidst all the chaos of the back-to-school swing, the Sooner football team has done their best to "keep the main thing the main thing," in the infamous words of former quarterback Jalen Hurts. Only nine days remain until Oklahoma welcomes Missouri State to Owen Field, and the team is collectively chomping at the bit to hit the gridiron.

“I think there’s a lot of distractions, but we’ve done a good job of staying focused," Willis remarked. "It’s been tough, but I don’t think we ever really saw that football was out of the picture. We always felt like we were going to play.”

Much has changed, and much more will continue to change as the circumstances evolve. But at the end of the day, there will be Sooner football next weekend. And after all the ups, downs, twists and turns of the last six months, Lincoln Riley's squad isn't taking that for granted.

“We’re excited to play," said Willis. "We’re blessed to get to play right now.”

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