The Bulldogs at South Carolina State University had a season unlike any other. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, they hardly had a season. But, fortunately, they are back in practice and ready to return with a vengeance. See below for details on how the team is preparing in the midst of pandemic conditions.
The state of South Carolina held a soccer training session during a cold rain on Thursday morning in Orangeburg.
During training, quarterback Corey Fields looked at Coach Buddy Pough and said, ‘Coach, I’m cold! “
“It wasn’t pretty,” Pough laughed.
At least the Bulldogs were playing football, which is a rare occurrence since the coronavirus pandemic hit last March.
SC State has not played since November 23, 2019 and had its spring and fall 2020 training sessions eliminated by COVID-19. Pough’s team was able to practice only once in the fall, before an outbreak of the virus forced the practice to be canceled in the fall.
The Bulldogs are now preparing for a list of four games from the Middle East Athletic Conference that begins on February 20, with a spot in the MEAC championship game and a spot in the FCS playoffs of 16 teams in contention. But Pough, in his 18th season as a coach in his alma mater, is taking nothing for granted.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to normal, or as normal as possible,” said Pough on Thursday during MEAC’s virtual media day. “But this virus is still kicking the buttock a little bit, so we’ll see.”
SC State went 8-3 in 2019, including a win over Southern Conference champion Wofford. Pough received a one-year extension on his contract last December, taking him to the end of this year, and SC State is installing a new synthetic turf at Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium.
But these changes pale in comparison to what the pandemic imposed on coaches and college football players.
“We had our problems with some of the coronavirus problems,” said Pough. “Some of the problems and protocols you are dealing with have been difficult for our young people.
“We miss the general camaraderie of being together. We had psychologists and mental health experts on our team in a way we never had before. I think it has been the norm across the country for young people to fight isolation and quarantine, and simply because they are not together. “
Pough, who led SC State to seven MEAC titles, including the 2019 championship, had to learn a new way to train during the pandemic.
“I would never have believed that we could meet and show a tape and do all these things virtually,” he said. “We do everything at Zoom now. We don’t have face-to-face meetings, except for what we do in the field.
“I can’t grab a guy right now, because I can’t reach him with Zoom. It is a totally different kind of thinking that you should be aware of. “
Fields, a sophomore redshirt at Baptist Hill High School, returns as the Bulldog quarterback. He completed 50.5 percent of his passes for 1,652 yards and 15 touchdowns against just five interceptions in 2019. Among his targets will be receiver Shaq Davis, a 6-5 redshirt from Summerville’s second year.
“Corey can play around a bit, and we have big old Shaq Davis taking balls from him,” said Pough. “We hope that these two will reach the point where they enjoy each other’s skills.”
SC State added some transfer running backs on Alex James and Kendrell Flowers. James, a 5-10, a 192-pound player from Florence who played three seasons at Coastal Carolina, ran for 629 yards and a TD in 2019 for Albany. Flowers, a 205 pound 6-0 from Irmo High School, transferred from Wake Forest.
On the other hand, prominent defensive lineman Roderick Perry was transferred to Illinois last fall.
MEAC’s spring season includes six teams, with SC State, Norfolk State and NC A&T State playing in the Southern Division. Delaware State, Howard and Morgan State form the Northern Division.
Each team will face the other two teams in its division twice, with the division champions facing off for the MEAC title on April 17. The MEAC champion will receive an automatic spot in the 16 team FCS playoffs. SC State has a few weeks open in the spring and may add another game outside the conference, said Pough.
“We have an opportunity, a chance to win some kind of championship,” said Pough. “I am not sure how valid this will be. But I’ll tell you what, we would like to have. “