Cowboys Hit the Turf for Walk Thrus while Still Battling Positive Tests - Will There Be A Season?

Today was the first day for Oklahoma State to add a football and begin walk thrus. They are missing some players through positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. Meanwhile, leaders continue to study the situation for the season.

STILLWATER -- Bright and early Wednesday morning and for the first time since Thursday, March 12, the Oklahoma State Cowboys were on the football field with footballs and with coaches supervising. Even though there is no opponent firmed up right now, because the Cowboys open the 2020 season on Thursday, Sept. 3, today was the first day they could bump the work for the players to 20-hours a week and start doing football work in the form of drills and walk thrus. 

What was different? The players and coaches were all wearing masks and the work was spread across both sides of Hall of Fame with some in the stadium and others in the Sherman Smith Training Center. The two locations made for safer social distancing and also for more reps for players. 

Great to step on the field again!#okstate #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/ua0brxYGW4

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) July 22, 2020

The equipment staff was staying busy with disinfectant and they were especially working to keep the footballs used disinfected. There were some players missing as positive tests for the coronavirus is still a problem. The rest of the way missed days will be missed opportunities for players as the push in on from this point on to get ready to play and win football games. 

Now the question remains, is all of this preparation for naught? Will there be a football season? My thought is yes. Did you watch the ESPN College Football Live Special - The State of the Season on Tuesday, Sept. 21. I did, and I heard a lot of positivity. I also heard the full crew on ESPN from Reece Davis to former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy to Game Day co-host and former Georgia and NFL defensive lineman David Pollack to Joey Galloway, the former Ohio State and NFL wide receiver all say spring football is not as doable as proposed.

An idea that I've been talking about for some time. If two football seasons in one calendar year were okay for players, both physically and mentally, then it would have been done by now. 

The positivity and the push is for this season and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey explained something that I've felt for awhile.

"Where crossing the bridge for the first time and we are writing the instruction manual as we do it," Sankey said of the COVID-19 predicament and the deciding factor on playing this fall. "From where I sit it is really what happens within the athletic endeavors. I've referenced a couple of times our preparations and so we've seen healthy practices emerge."

Sankey said they have done all they can and will continue to do so to encourage athletes to abide by those good habits and keep the team environment safe. If two teams are safe they can play football. The outside environment goes more to determining if any fans can be permitted inside stadiums to watch. 

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was on the radio with me on Monday and he had much the same message, including not needing to rush to judgement on whether to play and whether to play on time. He wants to see what develops and how these steps, like the one Oklahoma State took today with the OTA type of activity. 

"We lose very little by waiting and we gain a great deal," Bowlsby said. "I'd like to see us get to the middle of August and see a little bit of fall camp. That is really going to tell us a lot about what the season will look like. If we see a spike as soon as we are in helmets and shoulder pads then we need to listen to that. On the other hand if we are making progress and learning things, maybe more on a vaccine, then we can use that. We are learning more all the time."

As of right now, here is what needs to happen for Oklahoma State and the Big 12 to play football as soon as Sept. 3. The positive tests must be kept to a minimum, one or two each testing period or less. Players, coaches, and support staff need to abide by all protocols with masks, hand washing and repetitive sanitizing of virtually everything, social distancing whenever possible, and staying away from other people. Players that stray away from teammates are selfish and could bring back the spike of COVID-19 that puts the Cowboys out of playing what could be a special season. 

Playing football is up to a lot of people, but most of all, it is up to the people that play.