Gameplan

Welcome back to The Call Sheet!

26 days. We’re 26 days away from kicking off a new college football season, and I can’t contain my excitement.

With the season so close, I miss the ups and downs of training camp, so I wanted to share some insight into what’s happening within a college football program this time of year. While some of what I’ll share will sound familiar to fans of HBO’s Hard Knocks series, there are sides of a college training camp that are significantly different. TLDR:

• Cover 1

  • A Look Inside Training Camp

• Quick Game Returning Next Week

Cover 1

A Look Inside Training Camp

Training camp will kick off for most college football programs sometime this week, but camp likely began last Wednesday for the eight teams playing on August 24th. The four weeks leading into the first game start as exciting, dwindling into a zombie-like existence, and when there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel, it culminates in playing some real football. Let me give you a glimpse of training camp from the players’ and coaches’ perspectives.

Start of Camp - Week 1

The start of camp, especially the first day, is always thrilling. An energetic atmosphere flows throughout the football facility as the players check in, the grass gets a fresh cut, and new lines are painted on the practice field. Every program has a new life, as training camp represents a clean slate, and there’s hope for a magical season.

After the first round of meetings is held in the first couple of days, the players will take the field for their first practice. Coaches don’t love helmet-only practices, but they reinforce the basics of their schemes and techniques (rocket science for uninitiated freshmen). OLine and Dline coaches, in particular, loathe them since they cannot get any meaningful work done.

But pads aren’t far off.

A couple of days in uppers (helmets and shoulder pads) only delays the inevitable: camp’s first full pads practice. I know my former defensive backs and wide receivers just perked up because, without fail, a brawl always breaks out during 1-on-1s on this day. If, by some miracle, the first fight doesn’t pop up while the WRs and DBs are competing, it’ll come from the OL/DL 1-on-1s. Although the coaches know it’s coming, there’s nothing they can do to prevent the fights from starting. Something about dressing up in full pads increases every player’s testosterone levels while simultaneously decreasing their tolerance for agitation.

The first week ends with a scrimmage in which both sides of the ball have likely installed no more than 60% of their playbooks. This vanilla scrimmage isn’t so much about either side getting creative; it is about evaluating which of the younger players are picking up the scheme quickly and allowing themselves to play fast.

Middle of Camp - Weeks 2 & 3

After the first scrimmage, the players lose all excitement for camp. Even the coaches’ enthusiasm dissipates as they return fully to working 80 hours a week.

We’ve entered the dog days of training camp. As the days blend together, there’s no end in sight. One of my former teammates always called the middle of camp a war of attrition (shoutout BT).

This two-week stretch is an absolute grind for the players. Like trekking through the desert searching for an oasis, the days are long and hot and take a mental toll. Heightened levels of agitation lead to peak chippiness in practice. Although a fight may not break out daily, there’s a punch, shove, or thrown shoulder after every rep. Coaches become frustrated with the ebbs and flows of practice quality. Just when it seems like the team is consistently practicing well, a day comes when everyone looks stuck in the mud.

It’s not all bad during the dog days of camp. One of the bright spots is the second scrimmage, which is essentially a final audition to secure a spot in the two-deep of the depth chart. With at least 90% of the scheme installed, the coaching staff is honing in on who they can trust to play in a game. The intensity of the second scrimmage doubles, if not triples, that of the first. With bigger plays and sharper execution, all sides typically find this to be the best day of camp.

Many teams will attempt to fit in a third scrimmage, but it is usually shorter. I’ve seen two different types of third scrimmages during my time as a coach: the first is one solely focused on critical situations (i.e., 3rd down, 2-minute, 4-minute, red zone, etc.), and the second is a simulated game where a scout team is leveraged for the first time to mimic the first opponent (only the second half of the game is played).

And with that, could there be hope that the dog days have ended?

End of Camp - Week 4

The final week of training camp is more or less a traditional game week for programs: no practice on Monday, practices on the next three days, and a walkthrough on Friday before the first game on Saturday. However, depending on the school, this fourth week of camp can feel like it falls during the middle of the season as some universities return to class in August. In those instances, additional restrictions fall into place to respect the student side of student-athletes.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel for the programs that have yet to start classes. Although the long days of camp are still in place, the practice structure completely changes to follow the flow of a game week. Good-on-good periods are significantly reduced, and each side of the ball practices against a scout team for most of their 11-on-11 reps.

One aspect of the first game week that is unlike any others coming after is when the gameplan for the opponent is put together. Since most matchups will represent that first game for both teams, there’s no recent film to break down. Gameplans take 80% of their shape during June and July as the support staff breaks down an entire season of film and tendencies. The finishing touches come together throughout training camp as the coaches figure out what the team might or might not be able to do best.

Once gameday comes around, training camp is officially over. And even though it’s a cliche, players are truly hungry to hit someone other than their teammates.

A new feeling of anticipation fills the facility. It’s time to play some real football.

We’re so close—just 26 more days.

If you’re new, you can catch up on previous posts here. Thank you all for spending a little bit of your day with me. See you next week as we enter the dog days!