For Bay Area high school football players, late summer usually means conditioning, practicing and sweating under the hot sun.
But not in the era of the novel coronavirus pandemic — at least when it comes to getting ready for fall football that was supposed to start next weekend.
The global outbreak has hit California hard, forcing high school sports officials to delay the start of practice until December at the earliest, with games not scheduled until early January. That is the hope for now as medical researchers work to find a vaccine or treatment that would allow sports and other activities to resume safely.
So, what are players doing to keep busy? Are they planning to play high school football this winter if the pandemic doesn’t also derail that schedule?
We talked to the Bay Area’s top five college prospects from the Class of 2021 to find out how they are doing.
Here is what they said about life in the coronavirus age:
TROY FRANKLIN
WR, Menlo-Atherton >> Headed to Oregon
(Randy Vazquez/Bay Area News Group)
What has changed most in your life since coronavirus emerged?
I would say just school and working out. They are just run in a totally different way. School, working out, football — those things are very different. Protocols, making sure we’re safe while doing these things.
Have you had any friends or family affected?
One of my friend’s dad actually got corona. But none in my family.
What is your football regimen like at the moment?
I wake up and get my school stuff done. The first thing I like to do is go get a lift in. Then after a lift, just rest a little bit. Then after that, we go hit the field. Get some passes in, get some footwork in, work on the craft. That’s how my work goes. I like going three or four (days) a week. When I go, I really go at it.
Have you been able to do any football activities?
Yeah, definitely. Yesterday I was before all this smoke came down here. I’ve been going at it for a long time.
How has the postponed high school season affected your college plans?
It didn’t really change anything with my college plans. (Franklin committed to Oregon in June). I am working on graduating early (December). That’s where it is.
Were you disappointed when the high school football season was delayed until winter?
Definitely was. I wanted to play my last season with my guys. But you never know.
Has anyone from Oregon told you what will happen if the Pac-12 has a season next spring?
No. I haven’t heard anything yet.
Has the thought crossed your mind of playing with Oregon next spring?
I definitely talked about that with a couple of my coaches because they have that deal where you can play four games and then redshirt. When I get up there and if they feel I am ready, definitely will play those games. No doubt.
Would that be surreal?
Yeah, definitely surreal. Coming in, only three years of high school ball. Pretty much one year to work on everything until I get to college. It will be surreal, a big blessing and my hard work will have paid off.
What are you going to miss most about M-A?
Man, probably just the culture and how diverse it is — how much it just felt like home — and the friends.
— Darren Sabedra
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JERMAINE TERRY
TE, Kennedy-Richmond >> Headed to Cal
Kennedy-Richmond tight end Jermaine Terry is enrolling early at UC-Berkeley after graduating in December. (Photo courtesy of Kennedy-Richmond football)
What has changed most in your life since Covid-19 emerged?
I’m so used to having a set routine that I’m just trying to get back to that. That’s probably the biggest thing. I think like just being able to be inside a gym. That privilege is gone now. So I just had to improvise and try to keep myself in the best shape that I can.
Have you had any friends or family affected?
No. I haven’t, and I hope it stays that way.
What is your football regimen like at the moment?
I do a little conditioning. I do a lot of positional drills to help make my game more well-rounded. I am just trying to become a better football player. Just studying some people like Zach Ertz, George Kittle — those guys in the league who dominates every Sunday. The stuff like that. Just trying to work on the little things in my game and just making sure really that I’m just mentally ready for college. That’s the biggest thing. You have to be mentally strong. I don’t work out with any players up there (at Cal), but I know a couple of people, like Akili Calhoun. I talk to him here and there. We might wind up getting a workout here sooner or later. Everybody’s just trying to improvise and try to find a way to stay in shape during this ongoing pandemic.
You’re graduating in December and then planning to enroll at UC-Berkeley. How has this postponed and possibly canceled season affected your college plans?
Everybody wants to play their senior season. At the end of the day, I look at it as another part of my journey. I know football isn’t over for me. So right now, I’m just trying to get better prepared for college. I’m just trying to get ready for that next step. I would love to play with my team, but I’ve got to move on to bigger and better things.
What has the coronavirus situation taught you?
It’s just teaching us to appreciate the little things. Not everything is a necessity. We get some of these things like football, and we just have to be grateful for the time we get with it. For me, it’s just isolated me. It’s just shown me different parts of me that I haven’t seen. And hopefully, it will help me become a better person, to be honest.
Was it tough deciding not to wait to play your senior season?
It wasn’t that tough because I was going to graduate early, no matter what. That was just my plan because I know that high school football is one thing, but college football is a whole new ballgame. For me, that was the best decision overall. So I know for me to be ready, I had to enroll early and not put myself behind by choosing to stay. The biggest thing was I wanted to get my degree a little bit earlier, so I can get an opportunity to see some playing time a little earlier. I already thought about it, and with the coronavirus going, although the season’s being pushed back, they might just wind up canceling it anyway. So might as well just go ahead with what I was doing and make sure to put myself in the best position to succeed.
— Jon Becker
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AKILI CALHOUN
DE, Liberty-Brentwood >> Headed to Cal
Liberty High School varsity football player Akili Calhoun is photographed at Liberty High School in Brentwood, Calif., on Monday, July 22, 2019. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
What has changed most in your life since Covid-19 emerged?
For me, it’s given me a little bit more time to work out and get homework done. It’s also changed my life in the sense that like everybody’s been having goals over quarantine. My goal is basically to put myself in the best position to win. I’m trying to get myself in the best shape possible before I go to college. And so it’s changed my life in that way. I’m a dedicated person, but I’ve been really dedicated to it lately.
Have you had any friends or family affected?
No. I haven’t had any friends or anyone I know who has been affected.
What is your football regimen like at the moment?
I’ve been working with (Martinez private trainer) Mike Neal. Just me and a few other people. Everything is corona-safe. We make sure we disinfect things after we use them. That we wear masks in and out. I’ve been working there three days a week, and the other two days I lift at one of my coach’s houses because he has a weight room. It’s the same thing over there. We make sure we disinfect everything after we use it.
Like Terry, you plan to graduate in December and then enroll at UC-Berkeley. How has this postponed and possibly canceled season affected your college plans?
I’m still going to be graduating earlier. It makes it a lot easier now that the NCAA has waived off SAT and ACT (enrollment) requirements. So that gives me an even better opportunity to do what I’m trying to do.
What has the coronavirus situation taught you?
I would say it’s teaching us to enjoy time with family just because you’re going to be surrounded by them possibly more than your peers as if it were a regular day at school or just in general. I also feel like it’s kind of taught people that have those goals that if they want to get something done, just do it. Don’t even think about it too much. Don’t talk about it too much. Just get it done.
Was it tough deciding not to wait to play your senior season?
“A little. I think I’ll miss just being with my team. For me, my team is more than just a team. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, we’re like a family,’ but my team is legitimately like my family, family. So not being able to play with those people that are like father figures to me, that’s kind of tough. It was not easy (telling them he would graduate early). But at the end of the day, they were happy for me. They were like, ‘OK, you know what, he deserves it.’ They know how hard I’ve worked to get here.”
— Jon Becker
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KALEB ELARMS-ORR
LB Moreau Catholic >> Undecided
James Logan’s Jeremiah Patterson (1) runs the ball against Moreau Catholic’s Kaleb Elarms-Orr (1) and Lc Glover (5) in a game last October. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
What has changed most in your life since COVID-19 emerged?
The thing that has changed the most in my life is just adapting to staying at home and working out more on my own because I am used to, around this time, being at school, working out with all the guys, working out as a team. But for a long time, I’ve worked out by myself on the side and on weekends. So adapting to it wasn’t that hard. But it was kind of weird not going through the regular routine of spring ball and having summer workouts and putting pads on for the first time and getting that experience that I am used to most years.
Have you had any friends or family affected?
No, sir. Everybody that I know personally has been healthy and hasn’t contracted the disease.
What is your football regimen like at the moment?
I do speed workouts and track workouts three or four times a week. I try to do them every other day or every two days. My dad’s a track coach. We don’t live together, but he tries to send me a lot of track workouts that I can do on my own at my local track, back here in the Bay. I have a lot of weights. I have a squat and bench rack. I have a pullup bar, dumbbells. I have a few of the resources to get the work done that I would usually do in the weight room or at a gym. It’s a blessing because I could be just doing bodyweight stuff for the last five, six months. But I’ve been lifting and substituting for that experience that we usually have when we lift weights in the spring and summer at school.
How has this postponed, and possibly canceled, season affected your college plans?
It didn’t affect my college plans too much. I think I have plenty of opportunities to make a decision right now. I think I am in a good situation.
In your 247Sports recruiting profile, its Crystal Ball projection lists Cal as your landing spot. Is that true?
I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of schools. But Cal is up there, for sure.
What has the coronavirus situation taught you?
Spending more time with family. I’ve been doing a lot of outdoor stuff, like going to Lake Chabot, going to Mission Peak, going hiking with family, going fishing. But mainly just spending more time with family during this time and being around them more because it gets hectic and crazy during the school (year) and football season. That was definitely a positive, even though this whole thing didn’t feel good for our country. Spending time with family is a positive, for sure.
Do you plan to play high school football this winter?
I’m a young senior. I’m still 16 right now. So, yes, I do plan on playing in the winter season, and I want to run track in the spring, too.
Are you also planning to play high school basketball in the spring?
It’s still up in the air. It’s so far away. We’ll see when the time comes around.
—Darren Sabedra
***
WILL SCHWEITZER
OLB, Los Gatos >> Headed to Notre Dame
Los Gatos High’s Will Schweitzer (88) celebrates a touchdown in a game last October. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
What has changed most in your life since Covid-19 emerged?
Not being with the guys on the field. You don’t realize how much you miss it until it’s actually gone. Even stuff like running sprints you miss. Running sprints is not fun but at least you’re there with the guys. I miss the team aspect of it and I obviously miss being in school.
Have you had any friends or family affected?
I know one person, who’s got it. It’s a friend of a friend. It’s crazy so many have got it and I don’t know any of them. It’s a real thing, people are dying and people getting real sick from it. It is something we need to take a precaution about just so we can get back on the field, get back in the classroom.
What is your football regimen like at the moment?
My buddy Adam Garwood (Los Gatos running back and nephew of the late Pat Tillman) has a great facility in his backyard two blocks from my house. He’s got weights, a squat rack and a bench. He’s got a speed treadmill that goes over 20 mph. They say it is undefeated because everyone who has done a sprint workout has thrown up.
I did my first time, I’m not going to lie. And that was right after the basketball season so I thought I was in great shape. About three-quarters of the way in it all came out.
Usually, it is us two are on the treadmill. We call it the Dojo. We try to keep it as clean as we can by wiping down machines. We also do sprint workouts on the field and run routes with our quarterback.
I’m training every day. Even on vacation, I pushed a Ford F-150 truck around in South Carolina. Everyone was, ‘Do you need help?’ One guy stopped me, ‘Who are you? People don’t just push trucks around.”
How has this postponed, and possibly canceled, season affected your college plans?
Nothing has changed at the moment. It really stinks it is postponed and may be canceled. I would go to war with those guys on my team. I love my coaches, I love my school. Having something canceled as big as that and not being able to step foot in class really hurts someone like me. By no means am I happy about it. If I can I plan to stay and play a season with my brother.
Can you think of some positive things the coronavirus is teaching us?
I proved to myself I could do stuff on my own. The one thing we all see as a society we can do anything. I’m keeping my head down and staying focused. My friends and I aren’t able to hang out as much. As much as that is no fun, it gives me a lot more time to perfect my craft on the field. In the long run that is going to help me because going to a program like Notre Dame there is no easy road. I know what I’m getting myself into there. I’m glad I got this time to really focus. I don’t know anybody that has been great that just says I’m not going to do it because it is hot. I wake up every day and think if I want to be great then I am going to have to do what other people don’t want to do.
Do you plan to play high school football this winter? If not, what are your plans?
I could graduate early. The only way I’d do that if I don’t play a season. I really do want to repeat the championship that we won last year. It is a thing of loyalty to the team. They’ve given me so much trust and they’ve given me their whole heart. I should give them my whole heart too. I think they are deciding if we can play before the second semester, but if we’re playing I’m staying.
— Elliott Almond
