While COVID-19 continues to spread on some college campuses, ACC football teams have somehow found a way to keep the coronavirus under control in their locker rooms.
The spread of COVID-19 has reshaped the fall, with conferences like the Big Ten and Pac-12 postponing fall sports and schools like N.C. State and North Carolina going to all online classes due to clusters among students and employees.
But in football facilities from Boston to Florida, things appear to be about as under control as they can be. Although some ACC programs — like Clemson and North Carolina — had outbreaks early this summer, since then teams have found a way to stave off coronavirus.
Since July 24, four ACC schools — Boston College, Louisville, Virginia and Miami — have reported zero cases with their football programs. Two more schools — Georgia Tech (3) and Syracuse (5) — have reported five positive tests or less. And no ACC school that has reported its numbers (Wake Forest and Virginia Tech have not) has reported cases in the double digits.
Testing and protocols in the buildings have been part of the secret formula for ACC schools to continue with camp. The other part is that, along with the coaches and staff, players are holding each other accountable.
“The things that they’ve asked us to do are working,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “There are a lot of measures here and we feel comfortable with it.”
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That the process to keep COVID-19 under control is working is a bit of a surprise. When teams first returned for workouts in June there seemed to be great potential for disaster.
On June 11, ESPN reported that 21 football players at Clemson had tested positive for the virus. On June 26, the school announced that 37 more football players had COVID-19 — meaning that over? of the roster had tested positive.
On July 8, North Carolina announced that it had 37 positive tests among its athletic teams, although no specific number was given for football.
That seems to be where the story ends, though. Since then, neither school has announced major outbreaks. Nor has any other ACC school.
In fact, the schools seem to have done a great job of learning from those situations. During the past month, even as COVID-19 cases have exploded on local campuses, the football programs have stayed safe.
“Our protocols, day in and day out, have done really well,” Doeren said last week.
The Wolfpack has been testing football players weekly, Senior Athletic Director for Communications Fred Demarest told the N&O. N.C. State has now administered 1,360 tests to athletes, coaches and staff since June, with eight total positive results. That number represents an additional 765 tests since their most recent update with just one positive result.
North Carolina coach Mack Brown told the media that his team also does weekly tests each Monday, which will probably switch to Wednesday once the season starts. More importantly, he said that since its setback in June, the Tar Heels have had no new cases.
At Duke, Senior Associate Director of Athletics Bob Weiseman said a later return date for athletes helped the school prepare. Weiseman said the Blue Devils program, which is testing weekly, has conducted 700 tests of 309 athletes, coaches and staff with 25 positive tests. Almost all of those were from the first group of testing, indicating that most had contracted the virus prior to arriving on campus.
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So, the obvious question: with many college campuses failing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, how have ACC football programs been able to do it?
First of all, they’ve been extremely cautious. Teams have shown a willingness to keep players apart, and even cancel practice, at the first signs of danger.
At Pittsburgh, for example, the Panthers canceled practice on Aug. 13 after several players reported headaches and body aches to the team trainer — both of which can be common after football practice but are also symptoms of COVID-19. No new positive cases were discovered.
At UNC last week, the Tar Heels canceled practice Thursday through Sunday, even though they hadn’t had any new positive tests. They were taking extra caution after outbreaks on campus.
“We want to make sure we continue to do everything we can to ensure that our teams, campus and community remain healthy,” UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham said.
When the teams are at full strength, they’ve been taking extra safety measures around their facilities. At N.C. State, players say they have had their equipment sprayed and sanitized at the end of practice each day. The same precautions have been reported at UNC and elsewhere in the conference.
At Duke, N.C. State and UNC, masks are required at all times inside the facilities, and meeting rooms have been adjusted so players can space out. North Carolina has also asked players to wear face shields on their helmets that cover their mouths and Brown has used a portable microphone to enforce social distancing.
At Virginia, according to the Washington Post, players have two helmet options to help shield from the virus: they can either wear a full visor or a top only visor along with wearing a mask. All coaches wear masks during practice. And before each play, head coach Bronco Mendenhall asks his players to extend each arm; if they touch another player they spread out before the play is run.
“We play football as fast as possible,” Mendenhall told The Post. “Then we get right back out, socially distanced. Then we play football, then we go back out, so our catapult numbers are probably off the chart because we’re having to move in and out so much before we play. However, it’s been very effective.”
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Aiding in the cause across the conference are a bevy of trainers and doctors that the schools are leaning on. Duke, for one, has daily conversations with on-campus medical personnel, which includes Dr. Cameron Wolfe, the chair of the ACC Medical Advisory Committee.
“No day has passed where we aren’t in discussions as a large operational unit to make sure we are doing what is needed to create a safe environment,” Weiseman said in an email.
Doeren said he’s in constant communication with his AD, Boo Corrigan, and the Wolfpack medical staff. The N.C. State coach believes that if they continue to listen to the experts in the building, the team will stay on the right path and keep positive cases to a minimum.
And schools seem to be getting testing results back much more quickly than when they first returned in July.
“And at first, we were not getting our tests back for seven to 10 days,” Brown said. “And that was really hurting us. And now, we’re getting tests back within 24 hours.”
However, perhaps the biggest single factor in the ACC football programs’ successes has been team accountability. Football coaches can only micromanage their players’ safety when they are at the facility. Away from the team, it is up to each player to stay responsible — and help ensure their teammates are staying responsible.
There is evidence that has been happening.
“I don’t think anyone on the team thinks it’s easy,” Duke quarterback Chris Katrenick said. “But it’s really just about not letting the guy next to you down, and that’s pretty powerful. So that’s kind of how we’ve handled it. We got to control what we can. We can’t control everyone.
“So, we’re focusing on how we can be great teammates first.”
At N.C. State, sophomore running back Zonovon Knight said each position group has set up the GroupMe app, where multiple people can send messages to each other without limits. Each day they check in with their teammates and remind them not to put each other at risk. Alim McNeill, a Wolfpack junior defensive tackle, said none of the guys want to carry the burden of putting the team in harm’s way.
“We make sure we hone in on guys from doing stuff that’s not smart, that will hinder us from having a season,” McNeill said. “Nobody wants to be that guy to possibly catch it or spread it or anything like that. Nobody wants to be that guy.”
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With any situation, especially involving COVID-19, all the schools aren’t created equal and there have been some exceptions.
Last week, Florida State wide receiver Warren Thompson posted an open letter on social media claiming the school was lying about players’ health and safety. Other Seminoles defended the program, saying they feel safe at practice. And FSU coach Mike Norvell told the media his players have been tested four times within the last month and will be tested on a weekly basis throughout camp. It was a concerning episode nonetheless.
Syracuse football players sat out of practice three times in an eight day period, wanting to make sure that test results were back before they took the field.
Last week, N.C. State and UNC announced that students will take classes online only for the remainder of the fall. Brown told the media that might actually be a benefit for the athletes, helping to create a better bubble with students gone.
And that is why the ACC’s coaches, players and fans are holding out hope that the season will go on as planned. They’ve kept coronavirus under control so far and think they can continue to do so moving forward.
The schools have the backing of the ACC Medical Advisory Group and Dr. Wolfe, who came out recently and said a football season can be played with minimal risk.
“We believe we can mitigate it down to a level that makes everyone safe,” Wolfe told The Sports Business Daily. “Can we safely have two teams meet on the field? I would say yes.”
Local schools are scheduled to open their seasons on Sept. 12, with North Carolina at home against Syracuse, N.C. State at Virginia Tech and Duke at Notre Dame. Duke announced Monday that it will start its football season without fans.
“We just want to put the work in, grind, do everything the protocols tell us to do for COVID and stuff so we can play a season,” McNeill said.
“All of us want to play.”
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(c)2020 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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