Newberry: FCS, Fan Controlled Football will get us through to the NFL Draft

Are you ready for some (more) football?

You see, there’s no reason to take a break from the gridiron just because the NFL season is over.

A host of second-division college teams are practicing for their winter/spring season — snow-covered fields and all — after sitting out the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

And if you’re really looking for something different: a fan-controlled league is launching this weekend, a sort of video game meets professional wrestling meets arena football that allows viewers to call plays for none other than Johnny Manziel.

We’ll pass on the chance to take a cheap shot at Manziel going way off script in his attempts to become a professional athlete — a pursuit he now says is firmly in his rearview mirror.

Besides, do you remember all those college teams that passed on the chance to play in the fall because of the pandemic?

They’re preparing to finally take the field.

The FCS will begin its abbreviated season Saturday, with teams playing anywhere from four to eight regular-season games. The 16-team playoff follows in April, culminating with a mid-May national championship game in Frisco, Texas.

“It’s a unique time, to say the least,” says Brian Bohannon, coach Kennesaw State. “We’ve not played a game since December of 2019. To run out of the tunnel again to play football is going to be exciting for me and the kids.”

OK, so it’s not quite the level of Alabama, but the FCS provides an exciting brand of football for those willing to look beyond the marquee names.

If nothing else, this is a unique showcase for schools usually relegated to playing in the enormous shadow of the FBS.

“We have a great opportunity this spring to really highlight and shine the spotlight on our programs,” said Kyle Kallander, commissioner of the Big South Conference, where Robert Morris will make its debut after years in the Northeast Conference. “This country loves football. There’s going to be a lot of attention on FCS football this spring. This is a chance for us to really make our mark.”

Of course, it comes with some enormous challenges.

For one thing, the pandemic still looms large. Though the number of new cases has taken a steep drop in recent days, covid-19 is still killing thousands of Americans each day, with the death toll likely to reach a half-million by the time some teams are playing their opening games.

It makes you wonder if the FCS would have been better off just going through with its season in the fall.

“We’re still facing a lot of the same challenges,” Kallander conceded.

But he believes it was a good call to delay the season. There is far more knowledge about how to limit and treat the virus than there was six months ago. Also, millions of people have been vaccinated, raising hopes the U.S. finally is getting the rampaging plague under come semblance of control.

But there’s nothing they can do about the weather.

For schools such as New Jersey’s Monmouth, which is very much miscast as a member of the Big South, these early practices and, perhaps, even some games will likely be conducted in truly brutal winter weather.

“We’re going to build campfires all the way around the practice field so the players can go warm up,” Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan said.

He was kidding, but it sums up the weather challenges faced by Northern FCS schools.

Then again, maybe it can give them an edge — especially when hosting a Southern opponent.

“If it’s snowing, all we’re going to do is clear the hashmarks,” joked Robert Morris coach Bernard Clark. “We’re not going to put any heaters on their sideline. We’re going to do everything we can to take full advantage of this weather.”

Winter won’t be a problem for Fan Controlled Football, which begins its inaugural season with four teams playing a seven-on-seven version of the game at an arena in suburban Atlanta.

It’s the third straight year a league has attempted to launch in this time frame — neither the Alliance of American Football nor the XFL2 made it through even one complete season — but this is a far different venture.

FCF games, which begin Saturday night, will be broadcast on the gaming-focused web site Twitch (ask your kids if you have no idea what that is).

Instead of shouting at your TV to pass instead of run, tech-savvy viewers will have a say in everything from play-calling to which players make the roster to rules changes they want to see.

To put it another way for all the boomers out there, imagine a real-life video game, but with the chance to control actual players — including Manziel — instead of cartoon characters. (We repeat, no cheap shots.)

It might not be your parents’ football, but at least it’s something to help get us through these cold, dark days before the NFL Draft.