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Tennessee football: D1 council proposals could help Vols if year canceled

By Caleb Calhoun

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 23: The entrance to the NCAA's headquarters is seen following an announcement of sanctions against Penn State University's football program on July 23, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The sanctions are a result of a report that the university concealed allegations of child sexual abuse made against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts related to sexual abuse of boys over a 15-year period. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 23: The entrance to the NCAA's headquarters is seen following an announcement of sanctions against Penn State University's football program on July 23, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The sanctions are a result of a report that the university concealed allegations of child sexual abuse made against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts related to sexual abuse of boys over a 15-year period. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The NCAA council’s COVID-19 recommendations could affect the Tennessee football Volunteers.

As of right now, Tennessee football is set to have a season in 2020. However, there are still lots of things that could happen before the SEC opener on Sept. 26, and even if there is a season, nobody knows if it finishes.

Because of that, there are lots of concerns over what’s fair to players and their eligibility status should the season be canceled prematurely. Well, recent developments suggest that the NCAA is working on a solution.

Michelle Brutlag Hosick wrote on the NCAA’s website Wednesday night that the Division I Council had a series of recommendations to the the Division I Board of Directors about ways to protect athletes whose seasons were affected by coronavirus. This is clearly something they had been working on.

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Among the recommendations are extending the five-year eligibility period for athletes and allowing another season of competition for athletes if they take part in 50 percent or less of the maximum amount of of competitions allowed for each sport. These recommendations will be finalized Wednesday, Aug. 21. The recruiting dead period was also extended to Sept. 30.

With these recommendations, if a Tennessee football player saw action in seven or fewer games, they would be able to add another year of eligibility. That’s because the Vols could theoretically play 15 games in a season: 12 regular season games, the SEC Championship game and two College Football Playoff games.

This is a huge deal for many fifth-year seniors on Rocky Top. There are 12 players on the Vols this year with such a status, 11 of whom are on scholarship. At least two willingly took redshirts last year expecting to play more this year, and there are a few other players who worked really hard to be able to play specifically this year.

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Because of that, the council deserves credit for such recommendations. How it affects future talent, if the season does shut down, remains to be seen given the fact that Tennessee football has a loaded class coming in, but you have to assume some players on the Vols’ roster will be gone anyway because of their potential in the NFL Draft.

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