There is still a lot of uncertainty as to whether college football will be able to resume come the fall or not. While the NCAA’s decision to allow student-athletes to return for individual workouts is encouraging, there are other questions still lingering, such as whether students will return at all and whether states will allow games.
While much of the focus is on whether a season can begin or not, there has still been plenty of news in the world of college football recently. Let’s take a look at some of the stories from the past week.
Iowa Comes Under Scrutiny
As the nation is reassessing the racial climate and the power structure, college sports find that they are not immune to the criticism. For the Iowa Hawkeyes, they have come front and center over the last week.
Many former players have called out the program, most notably one of the assistant coaches, for insensitivity and racial bias towards African Americans in the football program. Most notably, strength coach Chris Doyle was accused by players to be the main contributor to the toxic culture of the program.
In response, the school has put Doyle on administrative leave with pay while the program investigates the accusations. To his credit, head coach Kirk Ferentz has taken responsibility and accountability given that these issues took place under his watch.
Both Doyle and Ferentz came to the program at the same time in 1999. During the last 20 years, Iowa has consistently been a strong team that has a knack for producing NFL talent. Given his tenure and his success in strength training, Doyle is the highest-paid strength coach in the nation, making approximately $800,000 per year.
Still, all of that is no excuse for treating players differently based on the color of their skin. Many of the black players who have come forward have said that they never felt comfortable being themselves and felt like they had to fit a certain mold or stereotype to fit in with the program and coaches.
While Doyle is the main focus of the investigation, he is not the only one who was called out. Brian Ferentz, the son of the head coach who is also an assistant coach himself, has come under fire too.
It seems that the program needs to do better, and it will be interesting to see if there is any fallout from the investigation being conducted by the university.
Nebraska Wide Receiver Enters Transfer Portal
According to Husker Online, it appears that Nebraska is losing its top receiver in JD Spielman. After taking time away from the program earlier this year, it appears now that Spielman is ready to move on to another program.
Last season, with the Cornhuskers, Spielman played in 12 games, hauling in 49 receptions for 898 yards and five touchdowns. He has been a model of consistency in his first three years as he had 55, 66, and 49 receptions; 830, 818, and 898 yards; and two, eight, and five touchdowns respectively over the three years.
Still, after taking time away from the program, it was expected that he would return for his final season of eligibility. Instead, the two sides are parting ways.
What will be interesting is when and if he will be eligible to play. Since he has not graduated, he would technically have to sit a year before being reinstated. It is likely that Spielman will apply for a waiver, but there is no certainty it will be granted.
