David Sparks' audio cut out and Mike Leach's face popped up, front and center, during the end of the Rotary Club of Tupelo's virtual meeting Monday afternoon.
Sparks, the club's president, was thanking Leach, Mississippi State's football coach, for answering questions for an hour when he accidentally muted himself. Leach alerted Sparks that nobody could hear him.
The mishap was one Leach is well accustomed to by now.
Like every other college football program in the country, Mississippi State has held a plethora of virtual meetings since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The technological errors that come with them are a part of the "new normal" way of coaching.
Leach isn't a fan of it.
"New normal? What the heck is new normal?" Leach quipped during the meeting. "Old normal went pretty good. I think the sooner we can get back to old normal within the precautions that need to be taken, I think the better off we are."
Things have been semi-normal in Starkville for the last month and a half.
Leach and his staff have hosted voluntary workouts on campus. College football players working out in the summer to prepare for the fall season – that's normal. What they are required to do before entering the weight room or stepping onto the field, though – not so much.
"Of course, these are interesting times for everybody," Leach said. "Our team goes in different phases. We take everybody's temperature and they come in with masks. We have five or six groups so everybody is spread out. We are able to lift and run and do walkthroughs and (watch) some film.
"I think we're getting good work done, but the hard thing for everybody is that we haven't gotten that taste of football. We haven't gotten that spring football where we're out there letting it rip and where us as coaches can be directly involved."
Right now, the Bulldogs use towels wrapped in tape as footballs because NCAA rules mandate they are not allowed to use real ones. As for that actual taste of football, Leach is optimistic it'll come soon despite rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in many states.
"We're all hopeful we'll have football this year, and I believe we will," Leach said. "Of course, we got to follow the experts on this. The experts vary a little because they'll change their mind here and there, but nevertheless they're the experts."
Leach added that football, if conducted in a safe and healthy manner, could be just what the doctor ordered for a country feeling the ill effects of the pandemic.
"I realize that we're not curing cancer, but what's great about sports is it brings people from all backgrounds together," Leach said. "It gives you something to celebrate when times are good and it gives you something to pick you up when times are tough. I do think it's a very important element of our American culture. We can't wait until that day comes when we have a chance to fully engage."
The Big 10 and Pac-12 have already announced a decision to cancel non-conference games. The SEC plans to provide an update next week. Leach, meanwhile, is optimistic Mississippi State will open the season against New Mexico as scheduled on Sept. 5 then travel to North Carolina State the following week.
"I think it would be a shame if we did not get to play at least 10 games," Leach said. "I hope that we can play non-conference. I hope that it can be as close to normal as possible."
Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!
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