Deion Sanders is right: College football needs intersquad scrimmages in the spring

With spring games going out of fashion, intersquad scrimmages are an enticing alternative

Colorado coach Deion Sanders is, once again, at the frontier of college football's constantly evolving landscape. He made waves on social media when he suggested that Colorado would love to face off against another school for its spring game on April 19. 

While some college football movers and shakers have discussed potential intersquad scrimmages through backchannels, this represents the first time that a prominent coach has publicly endorsed the idea. In taking that stance, Sanders is absolutely right. 

Simulated games against actual opponents, as the culmination of spring practice, would be great for college football, especially as traditional spring games fall by the wayside. There's of course a catch: NCAA bylaws currently prohibit teams from playing another program in the spring. 

But it's no like that NCAA bylaws are ironclad anymore. A slew of recent litigation has gradually stripped the NCAA's enforcement powers and there's a good chance that, if enough significant voices called for the allowance of intersquad scrimmages in the spring, the NCAA would acquiesce. 

The problem, of course, is getting enough coaches to agree with spring games against an opposing team. A lot of the concerns about a traditional spring game apply to the intersquad scrimmage: injuries are still a worry, other coaching staffs will still get the chance to evaluate a team's roster for transfer purposes and there's still the risk — likely increased — that coaches could tip some of their tightly-guarded gameplans and provide useful film by playing another team. 

In the case of an intersquad scrimmage, though, the potential pros far outweigh the cons. Sanders himself discussed perhaps the biggest benefit of facing off against an actual opponent in the spring. 

"To have a competitive [game] against your own guys gets kind of monotonous," Sanders said. "You really can't tell the level of your guys because it's the same old, same way ... I would like to practice against someone for a few days, then you have the spring game and I think the public will be satisfied with that tremendously. I think it's a tremendous idea. I've told those personnel who should understand that it's a tremendous idea." 

The inherent purpose of spring practice is to evaluate the roster before the second transfer window and fall camp, when the attention turns more towards gearing up to the actual season. While practice, and intrasquad scrimmages, do grant that opportunity, it is hard to assess a team, or even an individual player's, ceiling in a vacuum. 

Going up against another opponent is a better litmus test for progress. Coaches can actually evaluate how their team performs against a foreign scheme and personnel that they are not familiar with. Newer players, like true freshmen, could get invaluable reps in a simulated game setting, expediting their progression at the collegiate level. 

It can also be done in a fairly low-pressure environment, where the actual outcome does not matter. Going through this entire process would provide a significant advantage come August, when game prep gets real. 

College coaches are already mulling over an NFL-style OTA period that would replace spring practice, allowing them to ramp up to a potential scrimmage while mitigating some concerns over the increased workload. 

There's plenty of reward beyond the field, as well. It would be very easy to sell an intersquad scrimmage to fans. By hosting it in a stadium, universities could generate some much-needed extra revenue from ticket and concessions sales. 

It also provides extra access to regular fans, who are getting squeezed due to increased ticket prices and the elimination of traditional spring games, which are normally an affordable (or entirely free) alternative to the actual gameday experience. Schools could still charge for a spring game, but at a much lower rate compared to the high get-in fee for a regular season game. 

There's also recruiting to consider. Schools can host prospects for a spring game and, logically, the same would apply for an intersquad scrimmage. The latter would be a grander spectacle for recruits to take in, especially given the increased buy-in from fans in a simulated game setting. 

Recruits are more likely to flock to a stadium with a crowd than they are a closed intrasquad scrimmage. Opening the stadium for an intersquad showdown would be another flashy tool to utilize in the talent acquisition arms race. 

Sanders is the first to accept it, but he shouldn't be the last: spring games pitting two different teams against one another are a positive step for college football.