For this upcoming season:
— Over the last five years, the NCAA had banned two-a-days and implemented straightforward rules regarding fall camp.
Now, the NCAA is set to ban the Oklahoma Drill and reduce the number of padded practices in camp from 21 to 18, including no more than two consecutive full-contact practices.
Teams can start practicing 29 days prior to their first game of the 2021 season. So UF's Sept. 4 start date means that the Gators won't start camp until into August. There can be 25 total preseason practices. Those aren't new changes.
Per Sports Illustrated, which
shed light on the changes:
The new working model would require one less helmet-only practice (going from nine to eight), but the time limit on contact during a full-padded practice may be reduced from 90 minutes to as few as 45 minutes.
The new system is being referred to as an 8-9-8 model: eight practices in helmets, nine in shells, eight in full pads. Under current rules, coaches are required to hold the first two practices in helmets and the next two in shells with the remaining days unregulated.
Most coaches do not operate 21 days of full pads, but some hold as many as 21 days in at least shells. For many, the new policy is a difference of two to four practices in only helmets rather than shells.
