Ashland University Football is gearing up for the start of the 2016 regular season in ways they have never done before.  Due to changes within the NCAA legislation, new policies have been brought forth by the NCAA in regards to the number of hours football players can spend on the field during the offseason, performing football-related drills.

“This January, the NCAA passed legislation where in our offseason for Division II football, we’re allowed to use two of our eight hours, we’re allowed eight hours work with our players in the offseason,’ said AU Football head coach Lee Owens. “But two of those hours now can be skill work where we can actually use football-related drills.”

In years past, football coaches were not allowed to be on the field with their players if there were any footballs involved in any of the drill work.  Before January, football was the only collegiate sport that enforced such strict limitations on offseason drill work outside of the traditional weight lifting practices.

“There’s been a series of things passed in the last couple of years, whether it was the increase and involvement of our strength coach, which we passed, which was just a couple years ago and was football only legislation,” said Owens.  “Or this new skill work.  All these things are really to benefit our ability to train the athletes in the offseason, which we didn’t have in the past.”

With the annual Purple and Gold Spring Game just over a month away, AU Football is getting a head start on their preparation for 2016.  Coming off of an undefeated 10-0 regular season, the Eagles are looking to start off their 2016 campaign with a head start to their offense, something they haven’t been able to do in years past.

“It’ll be a continuation, once you get out of spring ball and you get away from those 20 hour weeks that you have in the spring and you go back to those eight hour weeks that you have in the summer and the offseason,” said Owens. “We can go out all summer long with our athletes for a couple hours a week and continue to work on those skill things and coach them on skill things that they can be good at,” said Owens.

The new NCAA legislation comes with very few disadvantages for a team in Ashland’s situation.  Relying heavily on a passing attack, the Eagles are now able to get more reps in the offseason, improving on the skills that help make an offense complete.  Not only do these added offseason coaching hours work in favor of the team, they do not take any time away from the student-athlete.

“It didn’t make any sense that football was the only sport out there that couldn’t work a couple hours year-round with their athletes to improve their skills,” said Owens. “We weren’t asking for more hours, we weren’t asking to take more time away from student-athletes.  We were just asking, let’s use a couple of those hours instead of in the weight-room, to improve the skill aspect of the game.”