No matter how long the wait will be until the Indiana football program will be able to resume playing games, the team understands in today’s world, their focus can only be on one thing— what’s in front of them.
“The game was taken away from them for now, and we have the opportunity to become faster, to become a little bit stronger,” Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Football Performance, Aaron Wellman, told the media. “Right now, we are kind of in this period where the focus is that we do not know what is looming.”
Although Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has been adamant on not revisiting the decision of college football this fall following an open letter he published on Aug. 19, there has been pressure from outside sources pushing for the Big Ten to reverse their stance on the postponement of the season.
On Aug. 27, eight Nebraska football players filed a lawsuit against the Big Ten, seeking an injunctive order to revoke the conference’s decision to cancel the football season this fall.
Most recently on Sept. 1, President Donald Trump tweeted that he had a “very productive” conversation with Warren, and that the talks to play as soon as possible “would be good (great!) for everyone— Players, Fans, Country. On the one yard line!”
“We’re pushing very hard,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews during a press conference in Maryland on Tuesday. “I think they want to play, and fans want to see it, and the players have a lot at stake, including possibly playing in the NFL.”
Wellman knows about what it takes for college athletes to succeed at the next level in the NFL. He joined the Hoosiers back on Mar. 16 after serving as the head strength coach over the past four seasons with the New York Giants.
“I think the team looks at it as a great opportunity. Would they [the players] much rather be playing the game? Absolutely,” Wellman said. “But it is a great opportunity for us to grow as a team and to really hone in on where our deficiencies lie and correct those things in the next eight weeks.”
The Council of Presidents and Chancellors, made up of university officials and leaders across all 14 of the Big Ten schools, voted 11-3 in favor of cancelling the football season this fall. Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio State were the three schools that voted against the cancellation.
“Right now, we are in this time where we do not have a clear understanding for what we are preparing for,” Wellman said. “The sooner we know the clear-cut guidelines on the calendar, the better the decisions we are going to be able to make as coaches.”
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