With the nation on pause due to the current pandemic, UCF head coach Josh Heupel utilized the platform of Zoom video teleconferencing to update the status of his football team.
Here's everything he had to say during his near-20 minute conversation with local media:
Outside of the obvious, what have been the challenges you guys have had to face going through these last few weeks?
"There's numerous challenges that you're facing. I think the biggest thing is just the uncertainty for your players and your staff. What's going to happen past today? I think it's really important, as this is unfolding, that we continue to move forward. Our players and staff focus on what they can control and do a great job throughout the course of the day of managing those things. Wherever this thing ends up, we're making sure we're putting our best foot forward every day to put ourselves in the best position assuming we get the opportunity to play this fall."
We're starting to hear talk of getting baseball in May. The NBA wants to restart their season. Have you received any indication from higher-ups about a timeline of when you can play football again?
"No timeline. I think with what has been put in place here as far as through the end of this month, for everyone to have a stay-at-home order and for recruiting here through the end of May, we're looking to see what's going to happen after this month. What the nation is going to look like. Obviously everybody associated with college football wants to get back to playing college football. No more than players and coaches. I think everybody will look at what happens at the end of the month and take it from there."
Can you describe what it's been like to recruit during this time?
"It's changed in how you're able to communicate with your recruits. Instead of kids being on campus... this past Saturday would have been our spring football game. The number of kids we'd have on campus for that or when we get back from spring break, those next three weeks of spring ball with it being spring break throughout Georgia and Florida, the number of visitors we typically have on our campus, a lot of the kids that we're talking to right now through Facetime and those types of things, and you're having a bunch of communication with them. It's just different that you haven't had them on campus or an in-person visit with them. You haven't had an opportunity to showcase a little bit about your university, the facilities, campus. As much as anything, just the environment and brotherhood you have within your program. That's been the hardest thing, not being able to showcase that to those kids. At the same time, we've had a bunch of communication with kids. Everyone has got a bunch of time on their hands because they're not in school all day or playing spring football. They're doing workouts on their own with their personal trainers. You've been able to get in touch with a lot of kids and had great communication."
Are all the players at home or have some remained on campus? And as far as workouts for the players at home, are you allowed to provide them with anything? Like things like resistance bands or basic things for them to try and stay in shape?
"We are able to provide our kids a workout plan. We have a couple different variations for kids that have weightlifting equipment wherever they're at. We give them one that allows them to use the equipment. We also have one if they don't have workout equipment at home, like barbells, benches and squat racks. Then we have one that's body weight. If they don't understand what an exercise is, our strength staff demonstrates it. It's easy. It's convenient for those guys to follow. Our kids have done a good job. Our strength stayed in touch with every one of our kids throughout every single week. Obviously our position coaches are doing the same things.
"Our kids, they miss being around each other. They miss being on the practice field and in the weight room. They miss just being together. Our kids back home are trying to do as much as they can to stay in the type of shape that they obviously want to whenever we get back.
"We do have a couple kids still here on campus. Kids that don't have a place to go. A couple guys that have long-term rehabs with medical reason have the ability to stay here."
If this were to extend into camp, do you anticipate there will have to be changes or a longer period to get guys ready to go at the type of level that you expect? Certainly this is different for them. They're trying to keep in shape, but it's not the same if they were on campus during spring practice. What's the reasonable expectation of what it will take to get guys ready to play?
"It's different that anybody has had to get ready for a season in a long time. If you go back 15 years ago, kids weren't staying on campus all summer long and working out. Maybe that's 20 years ago. Certainly the game has evolved in trying to get kids academic opportunities during the summer, but also having the ability to make gains with organized strength and conditioning workouts to prepare themselves for training camp. Training camp has evolved in the last 15 years as well.
"At the end of the day, anybody associated with college football wants to get back on the field and go play. I think as we come out of the month of April, we'll have a better understanding of where we're at as a country and whether or not we're going to be able to get kids back on campus shortly or June or whenever it might be. At the end of the day, training camp is four weeks. A couple weeks to get those kids ready to go as you head into training camp. I think that's important. We want to find a way to go kick off and go play football next fall."
Have you addressed the mental aspect of how difficult this is for all the kids? How tough has this been for you as well?
"It's tough for me. I've got two kids running around the house. That's been the one positive side of it. I've spend that time with them. I'm the P.E. instructor, around 12 o'clock when they get done with class. We're outside when the wife kicks them down to me. I think right now, we had hoped that maybe we'd be on the back end of this when we initially found out that our kids would have to leave campus once we got back from spring break in the middle of March. Obviously, it feels like we're on the front end a little bit of this month. I think as this month continues to go, being able to engage your players is critical... Some of the football stuff that we're doing on Zoom, I think gives them a break of the monotony of what every day is. As much as it's about football, it's a place for those guys to congregate, be around each other, laugh, have fun and enjoy each other's company a little bit."
You mentioned doing stuff on Zoom, how much are you able to do football wise with the players? How many hours per week? Or is it limited?
"We're limited to four hours a week right now that is directly associated to football. We're able to have academic check-ins and wellness check-ins outside of that."
What's the on-field impact going to look like, not having all spring ball and potentially not having guys on campus this summer. If we're able to play college football, what will it look like?
"I think all of us are putting the cart before the horse if we're trying to project when we're going to get back, what football is going to look like at that point, what the season will look like. I think controlling the things you can control and trying to do a great job of winning today is what matters for us as coaches and players. I think whenever we get back on the field, the urgency of our players to be in shape and prepare themselves the best they can will be at a high level. Everyone in America wants to get back to normal everyday life. Our players want to get back to that as well. A big part of that is having an opportunity to go play and compete in the sport they love."
Being here a couple years and able to establish the way you want, what's your advice to coaches heading into their first season and are now having to deal with this?
"I think the thing for every coach, no matter what year you are in, I think you have a footprint of who you are and how you're going to operate is more understood by the players and coaches inside your building. It's always about relationships. That's where it starts. Whether you're in year one or year three, it's about developing relationships with those kids and understanding where you're coming from. When you get on the grass and coach them up, they understand how and you're doing things."
Just your thoughts on the possibility of playing in front of no fans? Or playing next spring as opposed to this fall. Any thoughts on those two scenarios?
"I really haven't thought that far in advance. For us, it's controlling what we can control. I think trying to make sure that we're putting our staff and our players in the best position today with all the moving parts that have happened because of the situation that we're currently in. I think you're trying to continue to understand the environment, the scope of what recruiting is going to look like. You're trying to make sure that your kids are able to eat and they've got a good living situation. You're concerned about them academically. The mental and physical health side of it. I think it's important that you focus on those things. Haven't thought about the long-term effects of where we're going to be. It's my hope that we're able to get back on the football field and have a season here, whenever that happens."
In regards to true freshmen and other first-year players you have, how much impact do you think a shortened spring schedule will have on their development?
"Probably hurts the young players that were the midyear enrollees as much as anybody because they haven't had time in your system and time on the grass to make the physical or mental mistake and to learn from it, in a hands-on experience, then continue to grow from that. I thought the young kids we had in our program through the first four days did a tremendous job. I thought they got better every single day. They competed and handled themselves. The game wasn't too fast or too big for them at any moment. Big part of that is the success and the work they've put in January and February leading up to spring ball. Putting in the work here mentally, watching film. The sessions we have with our coaching staff, it's critical for them to continue to gain and grow in the knowledge of what we're doing. Whenever we get back, for the high school kids if it's later in the summer, it puts them at a disadvantage of having the opportunity to gain a bunch of knowledge before you get into training camp. That's a tough transition for those players."
What is your typical day when you're meeting with players online? Are you up a certain time, having a staff meeting or meeting with quarterbacks? And another question, with everybody having more free time because we're all stuck at home, have you caught up on any shows? Netflix?
"I've watched more Netflix than I ever have in my entire life. My wife got me started on All American this past weekend. That's something we started. For me, it is a consistent day. Wake up at the same time that I always have. We staff meet early in the week, typically just one time when we have an entire staff meeting. Our coaches get on the Zoom session with the players two to three times a week and interact with those guys. For me, in the last 10-14 days, I've tried to contact each of our players individually by phone. I wanted to check in on their living situation, how their families are doing. Everybody is being affected by this in different ways, whether it's physically with the virus, somebody they know or potentially someone that is part of your team that could contract it. Want to check in on them there. But also the economic side of it too. Wanting to make sure that our players were able to be okay and had a good living situation. That was important to me. I'm making recruiting phone calls all afternoon. Probably had a little more time to get some workouts in with the kids in the middle of the day or the back end of the day."
Some of your players have posted workout video on social media. Parker Boudreaux pushing a truck down the street. How does that help, you seeing your guys' dedication to working out?
"The pushing the truck went viral with our football team after Parker spearheaded that. I think kids are trying to find a unique way to push themselves and to push guys around them. One of the great things about being part of a team is there's great energy inside of the building. In a day maybe you don't feel your best, there's somebody else to push you. The interaction is something that all of our players crave right now. It's something that they didn't understand why they love playing the game, coming out of this experience, they understand it. It's a great feeling to be a part of something that's bigger than you. It's an awesome experience to have people around you who love, support and push you and trying to help you become your best. I think our team understands that now better than ever. I think it's something they obviously crave right now."
Your background looks really nice. Where are you going live from? When you can meet in person with players or coaches, what kind of social distancing rules are you following? Masks, any of that?
"I'm in my wife's office in our house right now. She's got a painting that I actually took down. It's multi-colored, so I went with the wood background this morning. Our staff has seen the other picture a little bit more. For our players, absolutely trying to emphasize the importance of being extremely smart in not hanging around a bunch of people. Not leaving the house. Washing their hands. Trying to make sure when they are around people that they are distancing themselves. When our players were on campus, the medical conversations we had, a lot of it was focused on the older generation and how it was affecting them. As this virus has continued to take hold here in America, I think our kids have a better understanding that it's impacting young people as well. Certainly it's created an urgency with them, trying to make sure that they're taking care of themselves. Masks, my daughter has made a bunch of homemade masks over the weekend. We have not distributed them to players or the staff yet. I think it's important that everybody takes care of themselves. As much as you're trying to take of yourself, you're trying to take care of the people around you, if you don't know you are infected."
