Pac-12 HC on Possible CFB Restart: 'You're Gonna Have a S--t-Ton of Injuries'

From the moment the Big Ten announced their fall football season, eyes shifted immediately to the Pac-12, the lone remaining Power Five conference still sitting out 2020.

While several Big Ten coaches were adamant in their desire to play this season, it appears those on the Pac-12 side are erring on the side of player safety.

"You're gonna have a s--t-ton of injuries. If the Pac-12 says health and safety is their No. 1 priority and they try to rush their teams back, then they're just full of s--t," one Pac-12 head coach told Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. "What really has changed here since last week? It's that the Big Ten came back.

"To play football, you actually have to practice football. Forget scheme; our guys are basically doing combine training. But that doesn't get you ready to play games."

There are several hurdles that remain if the Pac-12 wants to play football this fall. Restrictions in the states of California and Oregon had severely limited the ability of teams to practice fully; those restrictions were only lifted this week. The Pac-12 limited the types of workouts other schools could hold to maintain symmetry in the conference.

A different Pac-12 coach said:

"I don't wanna hear health and wellness out of anybody's mouth. The We Are United players, they have a f--king point. It's not f--king ping pong. You don't just open the garage door and go play.

"I don't think people know that when the seasons were postponed, the Big Ten and Pac-12 took completely different paths. They kept going like it was still training camp. They kept the same schedule like they were gonna play. We didn't. Half of our schools couldn't. Our nose is so f--king far up the Big Ten's ass. Let's just do what's best for the Pac-12. Why do we work out in the summer (usually) if we only need a few weeks?"

Big Ten schools were allowed to essentially hold camps and continue workouts as normal, allowing an easier transition to a full season. The conference will nonetheless have more than a month before beginning its eight-game schedule Oct. 24.

The Pac-12 does not seem anywhere close to formalizing a return-to-play plan, but that could change quickly with some momentum moving in that direction.