‘So excited.’ College football teams are back after missing 16 months due to pandemic.

With all the things Trei Oliver had to keep him busy during the pandemic — golfing, watching games on television, tending to his garden — the second-year North Carolina Central football coach is glad he doesn’t have time for those things anymore.

The Eagles haven’t played a game since Nov. 23, 2019. Just as they started spring practice in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic shut down college sports around the country. But when most football teams got going again this past fall, programs like N.C. Central and nearby Shaw stayed idle.

Originally, the Eagles (and Bears) were expected to start playing again in the spring of 2020. But Oliver decided it was safer to cancel the spring season than risk spreading COVID-19. This was before vaccines were available and at a time when many college teams were operating on a day-to-day basis, not knowing who would be available to play or practice.

Shaw’s season was shelved when the CIAA decided no teams would play in the fall of 2020 or spring of 2021.

While many college teams in North Carolina have played some football, either a full schedule in the fall or a condensed season this spring, Triangle HBCUs, including Saint Augustine’s, did not.

But after months of waiting, the Eagles and Bears are getting back to some sense of normalcy. Both teams went through full drills, with 15 practices, in practice seasons that concluded with spring games last Saturday. Saint Aug’s didn’t have spring football practice but did work out on campus.

For Oliver the stretch away from the game was the longest he’s had in decades.

“That was the first time I’ve had a Saturday to watch football in 23 years,” Oliver said.

Getting back on the football field

When his mind started to think about football too much, Eagles’ wide receiver Ryan McDaniel did football-related activities to at least feel like the game was back. He would go for a run, catch passes or work out.

“Just to feel like I’m a part of it,” McDaniel said.

For McDaniel, N.C. Central’s start of practice in March — in helmets, shorts and cleats — was the first time it felt like real football, not just workouts and drills. Naturally, the team was a little rusty after 16 months away from the football field. But the energy was high and Oliver was willing to overlook the miscues.

“Just to see the guys, they had so much energy and they were so excited to be out there,” Oliver said about that first spring practice. “The energy was just contagious, and the guys, just to see them be relieved to be out there and excited to be back on the football field.”

McDaniel didn’t even mind the bumps and bruises that came with the first day of contact.

“Yeah, definitely,” McDaniel said with a laugh when asked if he had missed being hit. “It was good to be out there, you know, hitting people and stuff.”

Best spring ever?

Shaw head coach Adrian Jones had a hard time sleeping last Friday night. His Bears were about to conclude spring drills that next morning at 10. Eight hours earlier, Jones was wide awake, and so were his players, who were sending his text messages in the wee hours of the morning.

It was almost like there was a real game the next day. That’s how excited they were.

“It was like a kid in the candy store with those guys,” Jones told The News & Observer. “They were dancing, they were giving us effort. It was just a beautiful thing to see, for guys who had been out of the game for a year, just how much intensity they had and how focused they were.”

There may have been a blessing in disguise for Jones and his group. Football meant so much to him and his team and a year ago it was snatched away from them. Having to watch most of the country play in the fall only made them appreciate the game more once spring practice rolled around.

“These guys really respect it a lot more,” Jones said. “Not saying they didn’t respect it, but when it got taken away from them it really hurt our guys. They want nothing more than to be the best and by far this spring was probably the best spring I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Looking ahead to the fall season

When Oliver made the choice to cancel the fall season he never second-guessed himself. He knew once the decision was final, there would be no going back and forth.

What he didn’t want to happen was to prepare all week for a game only for it to be called off due to COVID protocols, something that frequently happened to other teams throughout the season.

Oliver and the NCCU football program had to pause workouts once back in the fall. Same with Shaw, but other than that, it was full steam ahead with practices. Another obstacle was players who decided football wasn’t worth the fight.

Oliver had three players opt-out during the fall and not return when spring football started. Jones had some players consider quitting, but after giving it some thought, decided football, and school, meant too much to them. During the hard times, McDaniel, a senior, saw firsthand how some teammates struggled without football. He was even torn with it for a while, initially thinking it wouldn’t be that long of a pause.

“At first, I was good, I was like, nah, you know, this is just going to be a month,” McDaniel said. “And then I was like, okay, a month came and I was like, this is going to be two months, but eventually there was a little spot in there where I was just sad I really can’t go do what I love doing. So that was, I was sad, but you know we got right back into it.”

The Eagles open their season on Aug. 28 in Atlanta, Ga. versus Alcorn State.

“I can’t wait to get back out there,” Oliver said after going 4-8 in his first year as coach. “The season can’t come soon enough for us to get this thing right, and improve on what we did last year. So, so I’ve been waiting, I’ve been waiting patiently.”

Shaw hasn’t released its schedule yet, but just knowing one is coming and things will be back to normal is enough for Jones.

“Spring is over and now we are in our next phase,” Jones said. “When it (football) got taken away from them it really hurt our guys. These guys really respect football a lot more.”