UNA Football unexpectedly gets ahead in spring ball

The Lions played their spring game in early March.

The few teams who got in a spring game before coronavirus shut down the sports world, so what does that mean heading into 2020, i spoke with the head coach to find out.

Pkg: north alabama unintentionally got a jump start on the 2020 football season when they played their spring football game.

"that was huge, by no means we didn't do it for this reason, we had no idea this was coming."

Una football coach, chris willis, says the team installed new plays and hired offensive coordinators before the coronavirus pandemic.

"for tyler rice and zach liscoe they were able to run the offense during the spring and as an evaluator for me to see and hire them as co offensive coordinators and implement some of there stuff, so it was good for us for that reason alone."

Other teams in the state including auburn and alabama didn't have their spring games, or practices.

But now every team is in the same boat.

No school, no football.

And the athletes are working out from home.

"these guys are realizing how big it is to have a strength coach in your ear, motivating you."

The pandemic is uncharted terrority for the entire north alabama coaching staff.

Willis says they're working on ways to watch film together while everyone is away.

"you can actually use the zoom, now we haven't figured that out here, but we're trying.

We're trying to educate ourselves on how to do all of this."

Willis says his biggest concern isn't football right now, it's making sure athletes stay on top of their academics, until the lions can meet on a football field again... which willis hopes... is sometime soon.

"i think we are going to have to show some signs of slowing down, and all of that before they pack in a football stadium with ten to thirty to 100,000 people in there, there's such so much unknown right now."

Ll: at this point there are no changes to the 2020 college football season.

Reporting for waay 31 sports im lynden blake.