Dino Babers: Calm in the Face of COVID
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers addressed the media virtually on Monday in a state of comfort and relaxation the likes of which 2020 has never seen. Dressed in a blue Hawaiian shirt that would make Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid proud, Babers confidently answered questions that have made the rest of the college football landscape sweat and second-guess.
Even members of his own conference have succumb to the heat associated with COVID-19. Fellow ACC member North Carolina announced last Monday that it would be shifting exclusively to online classes one week after reopening for the fall. Tar Heel head coach Mack Brown de-emphasized the significance of the crossover and even suggested it provided the team with a competitive advantage, saying "that helps us create a better seal around our program and a better bubble.” Babers says things are different at Syracuse.
"I just don't think that we're in the same situation as the state of North Carolina,” Babers said. "So I can see how he (Brown) might say that, but I'd much rather have people walking around as long as people were doing the right thing.”
People were walking around Monday as Syracuse students were back on campus for the first time since March. In that back-to-school mix were some of Babers’ football players, student athletes he says he can trust.
"My guys have been clean for a long period of time. They understand social distancing. They understand what six feet is. It comes somewhere really close to two yards on a football field, so I know they know the distance is. Some of those guys are taking classes online. And I bet you this would be the most lenient semester ever for missed absences where you could still get a good grade in class.”
Syracuse players have been “clean” because they’re likely tested more than any other program in the country. They’re being tested every week during the preseason and the university has committed to testing three times a week once the season begins. Babers was asked Monday if he was worried about potential inconsistencies in testing, despite being “pretty good” so far.
"Well, we've been better than PG (pretty good),” Babers said with a satisfied smirk. "We've been better than that. We're one of the best ones in the country. Do the homework and pull out the numbers. And I said we're still going to be in the final four. You give me four other teams that have better numbers than us, I'd love to hear it. I'll buy you an ice cream down at some ice cream shop. I'm telling you right now, I would like to see those numbers."
Regardless of the numbers, not everyone is convinced that playing football during a pandemic is the best move. Last Friday, the NCAA granted players who decide to opt out of the 2020 season an extra year of eligibility. While Orange players continue to weigh their options, the final make-up of the roster remains in flux. Babers says the unknown does create some problems, but that the stage has been set for those still one the fence to be confident in their choice when the time comes.
"It's always difficult, but the main thing is they love football,” Babers said. "We're playing football, we're playing a game that they love. They're playing in a very pure bubble. So they're doing stuff that they love to do and they're doing it in a safe environment… Sooner or later, there's going to come a day where we've got to decide who is and who isn't because we have to get ready for North Carolina. As we get closer to the game, I'm sure they'll be able to make their decisions.”
The Orange take the field for the first time in 2020 on Sept. 12 at Chapel Hill. That opening kickoff is less than two weeks away. The team had their first scrimmage of the offseason on Sunday. Not everyone was on the same page.
"We've had so many breaks in the schedule that different guys are at different levels,” Babers explained. "Everybody's behind because you didn't get the three weeks of spring ball. Everybody's behind based off of some of the practice days that we've missed. Certain guys are behind based off of the conditioning days that they missed because of social tracing. Because of those different levels, you're getting different types of performances in the scrimmages. There's been some highlights. There's been some lowlights. We need to bring the bottom up.”
While the lowlights aren’t that discouraging, according to Babers, the highlights need to be measured as well. The Orange simply don’t have the practice sample size to make any informed evaluations yet.
"We had pants and shoulder pads and a helmet on three days in a row for the very first time since August last year,” Babers recalled. "So that scrimmage, some guys flashed, but flashing one time, that's occasional. We're looking for some guys are going to be consistent.”
Football coaches are father figures to young men in this country. That’s consistent. Dino Babers is no exception. In just a normal season, coaches have to brace themselves and their players for inevitable heartbreak and disappointment. Coronavirus is a different situation entirely. So how does a coach responsible for the development of so many impressionable individuals approach something none of us have ever encountered before?
"It's a very spiritual time,” Babers said. "You're sharing a lot of yourself. You're opening up, and not that you never did, but you're really sharing some deep stuff with them. They deserve to have that part of you and based off of what's going on, I have the time to give them that part of me. The main thing, and this is not to take anything away from the situation that we're in, is that while you're living this life, don't forget to enjoy it and live it, and if you're looking for the next bad thing that's going to happen, you're going to end up in your house and you're never going to go anywhere. Anybody can stay in a room, be born in a room and die in a room. And you can say you lived a long time, but did you really live? You’ve got to live life."
