Fall camp has kicked off in Denton and the Mean Green are glad to be back after missing spring ball because of the coronavirus.
“You realized you can’t take anything for granted," said North Texas head football coach Seth Littrell. "I just think they’re excited to get back and competing.”
Practice is much different these days with a slew of safety protocols in place to try to prevent anyone from getting sick.
“Yeah it’s pretty hard to wear a helmet and you got to wear a visor and then have on a mask, it’s pretty hard to breathe," said linebacker KD Davis. "But you know if we want to play this season, it’s just something we going to have to get used to and get comfortable with so we might as well just train with it.”
“In order to play a season, we have to follow the rules so in order to play a season we’re going to do what we have to do," said wide receiver Jaelon Darden.
Whether there’s a college football season isn’t up to players though.
With an announcement from Big Ten leaders expected on Tuesday that their season is canceled, the ripple effect could reach Apogee Stadium as other conferences potentially follow suit.
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But Seth Littrell isn’t worrying about that right now.
“We can sit and worry about the future all day long but it’s not going to help anybody. What helps is as of right now I’m locked in and focused in on getting better," said Littrell. "Eventually either we’re going to be able to get into a season and go compete and play a lot of games or we’re not."
If the Mean Green are allowed to step on the field for a game this season, they should have all of their players. So far, none have opted out because of health concerns.
“I practice like I’m going to play," said Darden. "I don’t have (any) doubts in my mind, no opting out, no things of that nature. I’m looking forward to playing.”
The big question – will he have anyone to play against?
