The NCAA proposed rule changes for 2020, including allowing players to wear the No. 0

The NCAA Football Rules Committee met this week in Indianapolis and put together a list of proposed rule changes for the 2020 season, which include:

• Players ejected for targeting may remain with their team on the sidelines, instead of getting banned to the locker room for the remainder of the game.
• A maximum of two players may wear the same jersey number, however they must play different positions and may not be on the field at the same time.
• The number “0” may be worn, due to the popular demand of single digit numbers.
• Game officials’ jurisdictions of the game will begin at 90 minutes before kickoff (it currently begins at 60 minutes before) in order to keep negative interactions between teams at bay.
• Instant replay officials would be required to complete video reviews in less than two minutes, which would increase the pace of play.

All of the proposed rule changes must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to meet on April 16.

Someone with real live NFL combine credentials told the projected overall No. 3 pick that he has a “tendency to get kind of sloppy” and asked him how he is going to improve said sloppiness. Former Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah replied by asking “sloppy in what way?” to which the reporter answered “like...kinda...penalties and stuff like that.” Okudah responded by telling him that, actually, he had zero pass interferences and zero holdings, which is basically the exact opposite of “sloppy.”

“Okudah, though, has dreamed of participating in the combine for years. He’s seen some of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, such as 2011 and 2016 fifth overall picks Patrick Peterson and Jalen Ramsey, solidify themselves as top draft prospects by putting together spectacular performances in Indianapolis. And now he wants to follow in their footsteps.”

— Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Speaking of Jeff Okudah, unlike the other projected top picks— Joe Burrow and Chase Young— Okudah has decided that he will work out at the 2020 NFL Combine.

It’s pretty rare for a projected No. 3 draft pick to work out at the combine. I mean, he already showed what he can do on the field. What else does he have to prove?! And as Hope wrote, by participating he could potentially have more to lose if he ends up underperforming.

But that’s not what it’s about for Okudah.

“Coming to the combine is a dream, so just being here is a dream come true,” Okudah said Friday during his combine interview. “I watched Jalen Ramsey’s combine video, Patrick Peterson’s combine video. I want someone down the road to say ‘Let me turn on Jeff Okudah’s combine video.’

He’s off to a good start too. He impressed scouts during combine weigh-ins, measuring 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, a 32 5/8-inch arms and a 78 5/8-inch wingspan (the longest of any cornerback at this year’s combine).

Okudah is planning to do every event at the combine this weekend, including the 40-yard dash and defensive back drills, after which there will be no more Okudah-doubters left on the planet.

Winter workouts are uhhh going well, I gather.

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