8/12/2020 football Edit

5 Takeaways From Scott Barnes & Jonathan Smith

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

Oregon State Athletic Director Scott Barnes and head football coach Jonathan Smith hosted a press conference via zoom on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the Pac-12's decision to cancel fall sports in 2020.

BeaversEdge.com Managing Editor Brenden Slaughter was on the call and has five important takeaways...

PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!

5. Jan. 1st 2021 is the target date, but in reality, it could be later

With the Pac-12 CEO Group announcing on Tuesday that all fall competitions would be halted until at least Jan. 1st 2021, that doesn't mean that things couldn't ramp up in a big way before then.

While Scott Barnes noted that it would be "difficult" to get everything aligned and ready to go to actually play a contest on or near January 1st, it's not out of the question.

In the case that the COVID-19 situation improves, the Beavers would be allowed to ramp up and begin full-practices six weeks prior to Jan. 1 if the Oregon Health Authority permitted them to do so. In theory, if the best-case scenario were to occur, a fall camp could start in mid-November if the green light was given for a January start.

"All those decisions are made but our medical advisory board, but we would want six weeks to get our guys ready," Barnes said. "In theory that would be the case given those parameters."

Barnes made clear that this isn't a cancelation of the football season, just merrily a postponement with the hope and expectation to continue after the start of 2021.

4. The Beavers will continue to do football-related activities

Despite the conference announcing that there would be no competition before Jan. 1st 2020, that doesn't mean the Beavers are going to stop their current workout routine.

Smith noted that the team opted to keep the same schedule as it currently has for the remainder of the week that includes weight training in the morning and walkthroughs in the afternoon. There was/isn't any contact, but the time together has still been valuable from a physical and mental standpoint.

"It was really, really tough news on our guys to receive," Smith said. "We got a great coaching staff and we're continuing to stay with them throughout this tough time. Each guy is dealing with a lot right now and each guy handles this differently because football is such a big part of their lives. It hits home really hard and we want to be there for them."

This will eventually be adjusted as Smith said he spoke to his "leadership council" on the team and they had some thoughts about how they're going to move forward.

Recently, the Beavers have been able to use their time quite productively as they've been able to do scheme installs and other direct coaching in walkthroughs and film sessions by being around each other in a team setting.

Knowing that the season isn't right around the corner anymore, Smith said the team will continue business as usual for the rest of the week and determine what the next steps are as far as football workouts go for the next several months.

Shortly, the NCAA will determine how many hours the coaches can have with the players and how many hours per week the team can spend preparing.

3. Smith says players are safer on campus

One of the more resounding points that Smith made in the press conference was that he strongly felt that the student-athletes remain safer under the direction, care, and guidance of the athletic department.

He noted that they've proven that they can successfully reduce the risk for any sort of outbreak and that his players have been stellar at making the right decisions outside of the facilities because they know of the importance.

Whether or not cancelation of fall sports would result in student-athletes being sent home has become a hot-button issue throughout the college football landscape over the past several weeks, but Smith feels confident that his players are safest under the watch of the athletic department.

"It is really safe here," Smith said. "When you go across our roster and look at where most of our guys would be living, I confidently believe it is safer here. There are protocols in place on campus and our guys have been great about following the guidelines and making good choices."

2. Beavers optimistic they'll keep a strong image in the recruiting game

While there's been some discussion around college football that if the other power five conferences manage a season in the fall in some way shape or form it would hurt the Big 10 and Pac-12 as far as recruiting the best players and coaches go, Smith and Barnes aren't buying the notion because they're acting in the best interest of the student-athletes.

"We're looking out for our student-athletes first and foremost," Barnes said. "We stand by our decision and crumbling through a season with many positives or worse is not what we're looking for."

"I think it will help our recruiting talks," Smith said. "When you're talking with the families, we're going to show them that we always take the foremost precautions when it comes to their sons. We will always put their health and wellness first and I think parents will feel very safe sending their sons our way."

1. Financial ramifications are going to be massive

It's no secret that not being able to play football at all would have massive financial ramifications that would not only affect the Oregon State athletic department but every school in the Pac-12.

Barnes noted that there's going to be an abundance of steps taken to make sure the athletic department stays solvent through this pandemic as there is a bevy of options on the table.

If the Beavers were to not able to resume the season in 2021, the financial outlook would be quite bleak as Barnes estimates the revenue loss from television and other sports-related revenues would be in the 50 million dollars plus range.

In terms of how the Beavers would potentially cover that loss, Barnes confirmed the original report from Mercury News' Jon Wilner that indicated the Pac-12 has taken out lines of credit to cover potential losses. Barnes didn't confirm that the Beavers would tap into this option but noted it's extremely valuable to have that option at their disposal.