ASUN media day: Gamecocks talk quick turnaround, QB health and NIL rules

Mark Edwards, The Anniston Star, Ala.
·5 min read

Jul. 28—Didn't it feel as if football season just ended at Jacksonville State?

It might for the Gamecocks, whose most recent season ended fewer than three months ago. And the nine games they played in the spring came about four months after they played a four-game fall schedule.

As the 2021 fall season grows closer, JSU head coach John Grass, quarterback Zerrick Cooper and safety Nicario Harper participated in the ASUN Conference football media day Wednesday by Zoom teleconference.

They covered the short turnaround and other topics during a 20-minute session. Here are five highlights of what they discussed:

1. Short turnaround

Grass said the Gamecocks haven't had the same type of off-season because of the short turnaround from the spring season.

"For nine months, we played a lot of football. I was really worried about how our guys would handle doing that.

"Very encouraged about the summer we had and how our guys have rejuvenated and are ready to go and ready for this challenging schedule in front of us in the fall."

Still, there's a concern about the development of players who came in the 2019 or 2020 recruiting classes. The 2019 class dealt with the spring of 2020 getting canceled because of the pandemic, and the 2020 class dealt with the spring of 2021 being devoted to a season.

"For any coach, strength and conditioning and developing athletes, knows how crucial that is," Grass said. "You take those off-seasons away from a guy that's going into his sophomore year or redshirt freshman year, he hadn't a complete off-season.

"We usually put 15 to 20 pounds of developmental weight on those guys on average every year. You can't do that playing in the spring. ... Not a negative to play in the spring. It was a positive for our football team, but you do miss that developmental deal."

2. Zerrick Cooper's leg

JSU quarterback Zerrick Cooper missed the spring season because of a broken leg, but he has returned to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA Council.

He was released by his doctor recently to participate fully in football workouts.

"I'm doing fabulous," Cooper said. "This off-season, I took time and got strength back in my ankle. Just glad to be back and looking forward to the season.

"It was something me and my family were looking forward to. I've been putting in the work day-in, day-out, whether I'm in Atlanta or Jacksonville. Anxious to get back on the field and pick up where I left off."

3. Zion Webb's knee

While Cooper missed the spring season, Zion Webb quarterbacked the Gamecocks to one last Ohio Valley Conference football championship.

He tore the ACL in his knee in a playoff loss to Delaware. Grass doesn't sound confident he will return to play this fall.

"Zion is progressing through his surgery," Grass said. "That's the thing about somebody getting hurt with an ACL in the spring is that you don't know if you're going to get them back in the fall. That's very questionable whether we'll get him back."

4. The schedule

This season, the Gamecocks will play what Grass called "probably the most challenging schedule a Jacksonville State football team has ever had."

In addition to the six games against ASUN/WAC AQ7 opponents, JSU has games against UAB, Florida State, Kennesaw State, North Alabama and UT Martin. The FSU game is a rematch of a game the Seminoles won 41-24 last fall but JSU led in the third quarter.

The ASUN/WAC AQ7 schedule includes games against Lamar, Eastern Kentucky, Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, Central Arkansas and defending FCS champion Sam Houston.

"UAB, Florida State, Sam Houston State, Kennesaw — I think we all know the history we have with Kennesaw," Cooper said. "I think me, my coaches, my teammates are looking forward to playing these teams and going out there and competing with them."

Added Harper: "We're playing some new teams we haven't played yet. We get to play Florida State again. I know that's going to be a game to watch. I'm excited to play. We've got some good teams in the conference. I'm excited to get the season started."

5. Name, Image, Likeness

Grass is considered an old-school type of coach, but he said he's excited about how players can benefit from the new rules that allow them to make money from their name, image and likeness.

"I think it takes the handcuffs off that the NCAA has put on players for a long, long time," he said. "There's going to be some good things coming out of that. Everybody's going to have to find their own niche about how they use it. My job is to try to help players to do that and navigate through that.

"We're still working on those things, but I see a lot of positives coming from it. Like with any rule change, there's going to be some negatives, but for the players, it's a great thing. It's a great opportunity. Let these guys make some money while they're in college."

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.