Sac State lost spring drills but not its pandemic perspective
.jpg "Sacramento State’s head coach Troy Taylor working with the Hornets during practice in August 2019. The coach had to sit on the sidelines this spring amid the coronavirus pandemic.")
Troy Taylor isn’t coaching hands-on these days.
No one is.
It’s all about electronic leadership and connections amid the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. Video conferences, emails and texts consume football coaches near and far. Taylor is gearing up for his second season as coach at Sacramento State from the vantage point of a lap top. He’s not even sure where his whistle is.
The Hornets — and programs across the country — were scheduled to start spring drills this week. That’s a major big deal at this level, a religion in some parts of the country.
Spring ball is where the jump on a championship starts. At this time a year ago, Sac State was able to implement a new offense and defense with a host of new coaches and new players. Quick learners, those Hornets. Sac State had a historically great season in 2019, winning its first Big Sky Conference championship, earning its highest national rankings since starting the program in 1954 and reaching the playoffs for the first time in 31 seasons.
Now everyone makes sure their electronics are charged and the power doesn’t go off. Without electronic means, it would all go dark.
And who better to talk big picture than Taylor, the local-born football star at Cordova High School who set passing marks at Cal, had a taste of the NFL and has stamped his brand of winning as a coach near and far, from Folsom High to Eastern Washington, University of Utah and here?
Taylor praised strength and conditioning coach Ryan Deatrick, who has come up with online workouts for Hornets players. Some athletes are lifting and conditioning in their garage, or the back yard, or the living room floor amid pizza boxes. This is all done on the honor system. Work out and get better, or don’t and you won’t. Taylor and his staff trust the Hornets are keeping on top of their studies and conditioning.
“It’s different, but we’re adjusting,” Taylor said. “We’re all in the same boat, trying to keep everyone safe. The natural inclination is to look at how this all affects you individually. This is bigger than us and our sport. We have to do what’s right to protect everybody.
“At the end of the day, football is a small part of what’s going on. We love football. It’s important, it’s fun, and it’ll be back. We’re adjusting because we had to adjust. And there’s a gratefulness that comes with being away from things we enjoy. We’ll all appreciate what we have even more when we get it all back.”
UC Davis gets spring in
Meanwhile in Yolo County, UC Davis was the only one of the 13 Big Sky program to complete a spring camp.
The Aggies concluded their sessions March 6. The Big Sky canceled all spring sports — as did conferences across the country — on March 23.
Portland State was able to complete 14 of its 15 spring practice sessions before the plug was pulled. Montana, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah and Weber State each completed between two and six spring practices. The other seven programs never hit the field or weight room.
The pandemic also denied scores of football players in this conference — and everywhere — from having an on-campus Pro Day with NFL scouts.
UCD coach Dan Hawkins is also big on big-picture thinking in regards to what’s going on in the world these days. He understands the value of football beyond blocking and tackling. He also hasn’t lost his sense of humor. Hawkins wore an Aggies helmet and his old fullback jersey, vintage 1982, on his sit-down mower to trim his Davis yard.