UCF wide receiver Tre Nixon hopes his senior season is played in front of sold-out crowds at Spectrum Stadium.
But much remains uncertain as programs plan for the ongoing pandemic. Will fans be allowed to pack inside stadiums like before? Will only a percentage be let inside? Or would teams have to play games in front of no fans at all?
UCF AD Danny White stated earlier this week he prefers pushing back the season to next spring if that meant there would be no fan restrictions. Nixon, who was on a media call Thursday, spoke about the possibility games this fall (or next spring) could be much different.
"Fans bring the energy to the stadium," Nixon said. "Playing in Spectrum Stadium with a packed crowd gets me motivated. I want to make a play and hear the crowd roar. That's what sports is, playing in front of big crowds. For me, I love the game of football too. I could play without fans. I say practice is my game day. When nobody is watching us in practice, I take it as let me get my game reps. I could go either way. I feel like it would be tough on sports teams to not play in front of a crowd...
"Marlon (Williams), Jacob (Harris) and I have talked about how it could be really different. I'll do whatever. Whatever I've got to do to put UCF on the map and help this team win. It would be a completely different feel with nobody in the stands, like an upgraded practice... Ultimately, we need a crowd. The crowd is really special in Spectrum Stadium."
Nixon has spent the past couple months at home in Viera, doing his best to keep a regular workout regimen.
"We have an old weight room in my garage," Nixon said. "We have a lot of fields in Viera to do workouts. I'm keeping myself in shape, trying to stay mentally and physically sharp. I do have hope that we're going to come back and play. There's a lot of good things happening and things are looking up. I still hope we'll have a season. Whether that means keeping people social distancing in stadiums, whatever it is, once everything is safe, I hope we will."
UCF was on spring break when the pandemic shut down schools in mid-March. They had just wrapped up four spring practices and had 11 more days to go, including the spring game. The team has been utilizing video conferencing for meetings and instruction, but they haven't been together on a field since early March.
Although it was a small sample size, Nixon was very encouraged by what he saw in the early part of spring.
"The whole offense in general grew," he said. "We were making the right decisions on whatever play call was made. Dillon (Gabriel) stepped up tremendously in his maturity and how he attacks the game. I feel like he's more driven than he was last year. That's crazy because all you want to do as a freshman is play, but I see now he's more driven. He's mentally and physically stronger. He had already put on more muscle. I saw that in the glimpse of spring practice we did have. It was very eye opening to see how the offense and defense was clicking. It hurt all of us when we couldn't practice anymore. We were up and coming. It was going to be something special."
Nixon said he was incredibly happy to see friend and teammate Gabriel Davis see his NFL dreams come true. Davis was a fourth round selection of the Buffalo Bills in the recent draft.
"I was at his draft party," Nixon said. "I thought he should have been drafted higher. He had a really good resume. I'm really proud of him getting drafted. That's something you never take for granted. All you need is an opportunity at the next level to shine and he's definitely going to shine."
Nixon hopes he'll have the same opportunity next year.
"The NFL is everybody's goal," he said. "I'm very goal oriented. That drives me to get to the next level. I feel this upcoming season will be a good shot not only for me, but the other guys to put themselves on the map. I've got things to work on and improve. That's what I'm doing. I've got a lot of time to myself to sharpen the iron I'm building. Hopefully I can put the best product possible on the field."
In 2019, Nixon was third on the team with 49 receptions and had the second-most receiving yards with 830. In an earlier interview, Nixon talked about his key areas of focus.
"I feel like the biggest two things I want to improve on is my run after the catch and making more contested plays," Nixon said. "I felt like I made a good jump from my first year here to my next year making more contested plays, more running after the catch, but that's something I want to take to the next level. I'm really known as a deep ball guy or like a short, intermediate catch guy. I want to catch more contested plays and run."
Asked if he or the wide receivers feel "added pressure" to step up in Gabriel Davis' absence, Nixon disagreed. He thinks they'll be able handle things just fine.
"I'm really comfortable in this system," Nixon said. "In the games, I just try to be me. The biggest thing I try to tell the receivers and what coaches say all the time is 'be the best version of you.' Don't try and do any more than you can do. Don't try to be anybody you're not. Be the best version of you. We all feed off each other. We have a good returning corps with Marlon, Jacob, Ke'von (Ahmad) and Flash (Jaylon Robinson). A lot of dudes who have been around. There's no added pressure. We're gonna hit the ground running."
As a senior, Nixon says he feels even more responsibility to be a leader. He's even watching the popular ESPN documentary "The Last Dance" with a different perspective.
"I'm learning how to become that leader," Nixon said. "Being an upperclassman with a lot of starts, I'm trying to be the guy you see putting in the work. I'm watching Michael Jordan in the documentary, seeing how he was a leader and pushing other players. That's really important to me as a senior, pushing the younger guys."
The NCAA recently suspended the moratorium on team activities, so schools are now in the process of making decisions when players can return. A couple schools are aiming for early June restarts that will begin with voluntary workouts. UCF has not yet announced a plan.
"That moment we get back on the field will be a blessing," Nixon said. "I'm not taking it for granted. We were living good before this happened. It'll be great to say we're back and we can handle business now."
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