Football Bowl Subdivision programs are already planning for a 105-man roster limit this fall, and American Football Coaches Association executive director Craig Bohl said he sees the day coming when the NCAA allows NFL-style intersquad practices and scrimmages.
“If a couple programs choose to explore this, I think it’s going to be something that could have some real legs to it,” Bohl told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders recently suggested teams should be allowed to host one another for a few days of joint practices before they play an exhibition game, possibly as a replacement for the traditional intrasquad spring game. Syracuse coach Fran Brown, in response to Sanders, wrote in a social media post he would be willing to take his team to Colorado for a three-day visit with the Buffaloes.
Asked if Colorado had requested a waiver that would allow for it, athletic department spokesman Steve Hulbert wrote in a text message to the AP: “We are working with the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference. There are currently no updates.”
Bohl said “there is quite a bit of appetite” among coaches to hold intersquad practices and scrimmages, even before this spring is over. The impetus is the 105-man roster limit, which likely will become official in April with the expected final approval of the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit settlement.
The average FBS roster was 128 players last year, and coaches are looking for ways to mitigate wear and tear on their reduced number of players, Bohl said. Intersquad practices between teams that are from different conferences and won’t play each other during the season would help accomplish that. The issue especially resonates with teams contending for the season-extending College Football Playoff.
One concern, Bohl said, is that participation in intersquad practices would put players on display for personnel directors for the other team, which, in turn, could lead to tampering outside of times when the NCAA transfer portal is open.
“Do I really want to expose my guys?” Bohl said a coach asked him. “They’re going to have their general manager out there taking notes on what kind of ability a certain player has. How you get that worked out, I don’t know.”
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said he canceled the Cornhuskers’ traditional televised spring game, in part, because of the risk of other teams scouting his players and possibly attempting to poach them through the portal.
Rhule, who participated in intersquad practices when he was coach of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, said he would be in favor of the Huskers practicing a few days with another team. He said he had doubts a rule change is in the offing.
“If anybody can do it, Coach Sanders can,” he said, adding Syracuse’s Brown also can be convincing. “If that happened, I would certainly look into all that has to offer.”
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said he’d be open to bringing Bedlam back with Oklahoma in the spring if the rules changed. He envisioned two practices against the Sooners in a year or one per year in a home-and-home scenario in place of a spring game, with the two programs splitting the ticket gate for name, image and likeness money.
“We’re moving toward the NFL; why not do that?” Gundy said. “So I think it’d be a great idea.”
It certainly could draw attention. Oklahoma left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference last year, bringing to halt the Sooners’ series with the Cowboys that lasted more than a century.
Gundy laid out how it could work if it were possible this year. He said the Cowboys could practice at Oklahoma on April 12, the same date that Oklahoma has scheduled an event to replace its traditional spring game. He said the Sooners could visit Oklahoma State the following week in place of the Cowboys’ spring game.
