Eric Shawn: Last down for college football this season?
Chuck Culpepper of the Washington Post on the impact of coronavirus on the school gridiron.
College football’s top quarterbacks are committed to playing the 2020 season despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has already forced one conference to postpone its fall schedule.
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are expected to be two of the top draft picks in the NFL next year and possibly contend for the Heisman Trophy and the national championship this season. Both players have expressed their willingness to play football regardless of the pandemic.
“Everyone's thought about it, but since I made the decision to play, I haven't thought about it,” Lawrence said Friday, according to ESPN. “I'm committed. It's my last year here ... and I'm super pumped.”
Lawrence said his decision to play is about getting another chance to be with his teammates.
“It's about playing football,” he said. “I don't want to give up that opportunity to play another year at Clemson. I'm really excited to have at least one more year here and I wasn't ready to give that up.”
Lawrence also reiterated his position on Twitter on Saturday.
Earlier last week, Fields said he didn’t think about opting out.
“I really feel like people have different situations in whether they should opt out or not,” he said, according to 24/7 Sports. “Some people's families might not be as financially stable as others. Plus, me growing up as a kid, I've always been a competitor and I've always loved to play football. Me just growing up with my family, I never really needed anything. My family has provided me with everything I've needed.
“So, getting to money as fast as I can isn't really a priority for me. Just playing with my teammates and grinding every day with (strength) coach Mick (Marotti) during workouts and working on plays and stuff like that, that's what I'm cherishing the most right now. So I'm just working with them and really looking forward to the season. I'm just trying to stay as optimistic as possible right now. But as far as opting out, I mean, I can see where those guys are coming from, but I never thought about opting out.”
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A handful of potential first-round picks have opted out of the season already. The Mid-American Conference postponed their fall sports schedule and hope to play in the spring.