Bobcats taking test run during mock game week

Texas State head coach Jake Spavital wants his players already in a routine by the time the 2020 season starts next week.

To do that, the Bobcats began their “mock game week,” featuring all the normal steps the team would take during the regular season.

“This is a time that is always interesting because you gotta work your way through class scheduling and on how all that good stuff works right now, especially with a lot of these classes going to online, a lot of the times that we initially had them set in are now changed. So you gotta work your way through it when we practice and how you structure practice so we can make sure that we’ve got everybody here to rep,” Spavital said. “Those are just typical problems that happen every single year, but that’s why I do a mock week.”

The mock week began on Sunday. Spavital said the team will typically use the practice to review the previous day’s game during the regular season and keep the players loose with weight-lifting sessions and light on-field work. Monday is the players’ day off, which they are encouraged to use to focus on their academics. This week’s Monday coincided with the start of Texas State’s fall semester.

“Tuesday is the initial game plan, you know, in like installation. And you install the game plan and it’s more open field, you kind of phase down stuff,” Spavital said. “And then you get into Wednesday, which is full pads, which we do a lot of short yardage. And that’s why we’re in full pads, so you do your short-yardage sets. So Tuesday, Wednesday are our workdays, you gotta get a lot of work in.”

Spavital said Tuesday was the first day he talked to the players about SMU, beginning the initial installs for next week’s contest. He doesn’t expect to rush into the gameplan quite yet, but will start showing video clips and examples of what the Mustangs do.

After two days of hard work, the Bobcats enter into “no-sweat Thursdays.” Spavital said the players do, in fact, sweat a little bit but that the main focus is recovery and low-impact workouts. The team will then rep through 35-40 plays as quickly as it possibly can on “fast Fridays,” putting the finishing touches on the week’s gameplan before kick off the next day.

Though there won’t be an opponent this Saturday, Spavital said the players will still go through the motions of stretching, warming up and everything else the team goes through on a game day.

This week hasn’t gone without hiccups. Multiple players, such as junior quarterback Tyler Vitt, were missing from Tuesday’s practice due to scheduling conflicts with classes. But Spavital said it’s better to get those hiccups out of the way now.

“(It’s) always a hectic week, but it’s very well worth it,” Spavital said.

The head coach said the team was tested for COVID-19 on Monday and will be tested twice next week leading up to the SMU game. He anticipates the Sun Belt will make twice-a-week testing a part of its mandated protocols for the season, which will be important in monitoring the players’ health and safety — especially with students returning to campus.

Spavital said the team has educated the players on how to minimize their exposure to others during in-person classes, including wearing a face mask and keeping themselves separated from their classmates. However, the risk is still a big concern for the head coach.

“We’ve tested really well, you know, throughout fall camp. They were saying it’s the top in the Sun Belt and really in the state of Texas, you know, based off all the times we’ve tested. But we have never had students on campus,” Spavital said. “Everybody here is asymptomatic. You know, that’s the one thing that — you know, we’re doing our testing protocols and guidelines and if anybody does have symptoms, we pull them out immediately. But we haven’t had any of those lately. So that’s always the concern, you know, is an asymptomatic positive test, if you ever come across those. But you have to wait till the test results come back on those.”

Texas State is set to host SMU on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. inside Bobcat Stadium, which will have a 25% maximum capacity limitation. Spavital said that he’s glad to have fans be able to attend the games — as long as it can take place in a safe environment.

“I think it’s gonna be pretty unique, you know, because it’s going to be spread out across this whole stadium, which I think will be pretty interesting to see when you look at it,” Spavital said. “I think it’s great for the fans and everything as long as we’re doing the right stuff, and you know, the players as well. But I think the players are just so anxious to get an opportunity to play someone else. I think they would play if there’s 100,000 people or zero in the stands right now.”