Offseason? More like worry season for college football coaches

— -- The months sandwiched between spring practice and fall camp seemingly would rank low on a college football coach's most angst-ridden times of the year.

For starters, there are all those blood pressure-spiking fall Saturdays. There's national signing day, the relentlessness of two-a-days and, to a lesser extent, spring ball. There are the emotional swings of the winter coaching carousel.

The summer months are a final respite, the last chance for players to leave campus before the #grind. In theory, it should be a quiet time.

Which is exactly why coaches worry.

If a player makes headlines in the coming weeks, particularly right before camp, it usually isn't good. Plenty of players make missteps during the school year, when they're theoretically within their coach's jurisdiction, but the proportion of problems that take place in the summer is undeniable. It happened with Ohio State in the summer of 2013 and with LSU last summer. Oklahoma's turn came last week as All-Big 12 defensive back Jordan Thomas was arrested after an alleged bar fight.

"There's ample material weekly about bad decision-making," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It's not relegated to athletes, either. Knock on wood, we've had pretty routine summers, but there have been things nationally.

"Anytime players have a bit more time on their hands, things are more apt to happen."

Iowa players begin a nine-day break Saturday. While Ferentz wants them to enjoy themselves, he worries "just like any parent would."

Travel situations always concern him.

"Ten or 12 years ago, we had a group of guys coming back from spring break," Ferentz said. "They were a little tired, hit an icy spot driving back, had a near miss. They were fine, but it could have been really bad."

Coaches regularly relay similar stories of players in perilous situations, even if they have happy endings. While players are typically encouraged to keep the focus internal, many are exposed to the transgressions happening around the country.

"I like to throw them on the screen in the team room," Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi said. "I say, 'Look at all the other problems. It happens. Don't be next.'"

Accountability is stressed year-round, but team meetings before extended breaks -- after final exams, between summer school and the start of camp -- are often especially critical. Arizona's Rich Rodriguez tells players that when they leave campus, they must treat themselves like elite athletes.

There's a physical component to it -- nutritious eating, sufficient rest -- but also an understanding that they're being watched.

"People say, 'Kids are worse now than they've ever been,'" Rodriguez said. "I think kids have been the same way for 20, 30 years. They're just under more of a microscope now, and that's not a bad thing. You've just got to accept it and use it as a positive. As I tell them, 'Use it in a way that can help you 10 or 15 or 20 years down the road.'

"When you're that age, a lot of them don't think that way, but you've got to educate them the best you can and hope it sinks in."

A coach's concern level about his players' actions away from campus can be linked to how the coach assesses players when he first brings players to campus. As Arkansas coach Bret Bielema puts it, "You recruit your own problems."

Bielema, entering his fourth season at Arkansas, is less concerned about player conduct during breaks because he has recruited most of the team and established clear standards for behavior. While Arkansas had issues with player arrests before Bielema's arrival, the frequency has gone down substantially. Before dismissing the team, Bielema encourages players to visit an influential person whom they haven't seen for years, perhaps a grade school teacher or a middle school coach. If players are involved in community service efforts on campus, they're encouraged to continue them back home.

"My biggest issue when they go home is being around people who don't have as much going for them or don't have as much to risk if they get caught doing certain things," Bielema said. "I just tell them to make great choices."

But certain home environments contain more hazards than others. Before breaks, coaches are fully aware of who may be re-entering a difficult setting. At times, alternative plans are made. Some players arrive at college with a plan to go home as little as possible. Dorms are kept open for them and extra courses arranged, if need be.

Coaches call upon other players, especially veterans and those from stable homes, to help. They'll take in teammates during breaks and check in with them frequently. Football players receive nine weeks of discretionary time between Jan. 1 and the start of summer conditioning in June, when they have no required activities and, if off campus, limited contact with coaches.

"Sometimes being a good teammate," Rodriguez said, "is keeping a guy from getting in a potential tough situation."

The time demands of athletes are a major NCAA policy item this year, and more off time could be mandated in the calendar. But coaches hope any changes affect the period before summer. The so-called eight-hour rule, which requires players to participate in conditioning for eight hours per week during an eight-week period in the summer, has helped coaches remain in regular contact.

Ferentz remembers talk about a decade ago of possibly making summer off limits.

"That would have been the worst possible thing," he said. "I can't imagine basketball or wrestling, sports that start in November, not to have organized training. The time away from the sport is important and needed. This is not the time for that. This is a peak phase for the athlete.

"You want to build up to the start of official practice."

Many players seem to agree. The NCAA's recent time-demands survey showed that 56 percent of FBS players support having required athletic activities during the summer. Only two men's sports had a higher percentage of support.

Ferentz expects many Iowa players to stick around during the nine-day break, whereas "95 percent" would be gone a decade ago. Rodriguez designates almost all of May as time off, but several Wildcats players stay in Tucson just because they like it.

Still, there's concern in the summer, a reason why college coaches sleep next to their cellphones. They hope the next few weeks are quiet. If not, they'll address the situations and move forward.

"I don't really worry because you've got good kids and you hope you've done a good job educating them," Narduzzi said. "If I worried, I'd probably be paranoid about it."