Are college football’s spring games on the verge of extinction?

Like many college football bastions, Nebraska’s annual spring intrasquad game had evolved into a hallowed custom, rife with pomp and three-point stance. A glorified practice that attracted thousands, it was equal parts recruiting tool and rite.

Same at places such as USC, Ohio State and Texas, where this alliance of social event and scrimmage embedded itself on a community’s calendar.

But this year, none of those places are staging spring games, for varying — and valid — reasons that may prompt other big-time programs to follow suit.

“The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said recently at his midwinter news conference, according to the Associated Press. “It’s just an absolute free open common market. I don’t necessarily want to open up (spring practice) to the outside world and have people watch our guys and say, ‘He looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.’”

As the line keeps blurring between major college football and the NFL, and de facto free agency (the NCAA transfer portal) persists at the collegiate level, spring games — if not spring practices — have joined walk-ons and wing-T formations on the sport’s endangered list.

And while some coaches, such as Florida’s Billy Napier, still cling to the tradition, the demographic at-large is left to wonder how much longer it will last.

“I just think it’s a healthy experience for the players; I think it’s great,” Napier said at his Feb. 5 national signing day news conference.

“I can still remember some of these rookies last year talking about it. … (Veteran defensive tackle) Joey Slackman said, ‘Man, that was the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of.’ So there’s a healthy component to filling that thing up, playing a game. I think we played like 50 players on both…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/college-football-spring-games-verge-154200882.html

Author : Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Publish date : 2025-02-21 15:42:00

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