Aug 27, 2020UH Football Coach: “We’re Not in Shape Right Now”
Less than a month from now, the University of Houston football team will begin its 2020 season — barring any potential setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.
And though the Cougars are approaching nearly six weeks of workouts since returning in mid-July, head coach Dana Holgorsen already knows his players aren’t where they typically are at this point in time, according to a story that appeared on TheDailyCougar.com.
“We were without (the players) for three to four months,” Holgorsen said in a Zoom video conference call with the media. “(When) we came back on June 1, they were deconditioned. We got a couple of weeks with them. We made some gains and then we had to hit the pause button again. Then we got them back mid-July, and they were deconditioned.”
Since restarting in mid-July, the Cougars have had the advantage of continually holding on-campus workouts through the pandemic — which has allowed student-athletes the opportunity to build a routine and gradually ramp up conditioning. Still, the UH staff isn’t rushing the players.
“We’ve been back for about five weeks. (We’re) trying to ease everyone back into it. You’ve got to be careful with how much volume you’re giving your guys because you want to be fresh and ready for that first game,” Holgorsen said to the media.
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UH did hold nine spring practices before the COVID-19 pandemic forced school and program closures, but with the extended layoff, those sessions mean little-to-nothing to the Cougars head coach.
“You usually get eight to nine weeks of strength and conditioning in the summer, but nobody got that. It’s a constant everyday battle. … We’re not in shape to play football right now. We haven’t had the physical nature of practice that we need prior to be ready for the first game. … There’s still guys, five weeks later, that we have in strength and conditioning only, and we won’t let them put a helmet on, and we won’t let them put pads on because they’re not conditioned to the point (needed),” Holgorsen said in the Zoom video conference call.
To read the full report from TheDailyCougar.com on the University of Houston’s football team, click here.
