Coronavirus outbreak mitigated, UNC football resuming workouts

UNC-Chapel Hill football players have returned to workouts, coach Mack Brown said in a press conference Tuesday.

Coaches will be allowed 20 hours with the team starting Thursday: eight hours of strength and conditioning, six hours of meetings, and six hours of walk-throughs. Player-led workouts resumed July 16.

“It will be really the first time we’ve had in-person, on-the-field meetings with our players and that should be fun moving forward,” Brown said.

Voluntary, player-led workouts, in accordance with NCAA guidelines, had been paused after the school returned 37 positive coronavirus tests from athletes, coaches and staff per an announcement on July 8. Those who tested positive, as well as those considered to be close-contacts, quarantined for 14 days.

Brown said all of the players who tested positive had “minor to no symptoms,” and that contact-tracers are working to find out where the cluster of positives originated.

On July 10, ACC commissioner John Swofford said the conference would have a decision on how to move forward with fall sports by the end of the month. The ACC had already announced that fall Olympic sports would start no earlier than Sept. 1.

A handful of conferences have already made rulings on their fall sports season. The Ivy League canceled its fall season on July 8, while leaving open the possibility to reschedule to spring. The Big 10 and Pac-12 have announced they will play a conference-only schedule this season.

Many have questioned if conference-only play is truly safer than a full regular season schedule. As Brown said as he understands the concept after consultation with UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham, conferences would each establish their own medical protocol to be followed by all of their teams. Schools would not be allowed to play teams outside their conference unless those schools can adhere to the conference’s protocols.

“I told Bubba [Cunningham] my goal would be for the medical staffs to make it safe for all of us, not just the players, but the coaches, the fans, [the media],” Brown said. “And if we can figure that out we need to play.

“I’m gonna play whatever [schedule] Bubba tells me to play. And John Swofford tells me to play.”

Brown noted that making sure the players are safe, and more importantly, comfortable, as they return to play has been a priority. UNC will honor the scholarships of athletes who opt-out of the 2020 season. However, he said he hasn’t had any players say they don’t want to play this season.

“Everybody handles stress differently,” Brown said. “Everybody handles a crisis differently.”

As far as the coaching staff, if a coach or staff member gets sick during the season, the NCAA has granted teams permission to have an analyst or staff member who doesn’t normally coach on the field replace the sick individual until they recover.

Brown said coaches are also having to learn how to run practice differently to ensure they are as safe as possible. One thing they’ll be doing is carrying 6-foot sticks to help maintain social distancing during walk-throughs. The school is also ordering face shields for coaches.

Players are now also wearing masks while in the weight room, something Brown said they had not been doing prior to the positive tests.

“We’re trying right now to learn how to move forward, to learn how to practice and meet better, and at the same time keep a very low risk,” Brown said.

This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 11:50 AM.