UNC resumed its athletic activities this week after a temporary suspension due to COVID-19 clusters on campus, with head football coach Mack Brown saying on Wednesday that it feels like the Tar Heels will play this season more now than ever before.
Brown said the entire team was tested for the virus on Monday and not one person came up positive—which is a bright sign as the opener against Syracuse on Sept. 12 approaches quickly.
The Tar Heels are now much more isolated after the university’s decision to move all classes online, another factor that will help limit COVID-19 exposure.
Talks going on behind the scenes in the ACC have also gone a long way toward increasing Brown’s optimism about a season being played—even with NC State’s season opener having to be postponed by two weeks due to virus clusters on its campus.
“They’re talking about game times with TV,” Brown said. “The officials said yesterday they already have their assignments for their first four ball games. Seeing the NC State game being moved, it’s a positive that people are still trying to make this craziness work out so we can play.”
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Billy Ross recently became just the fifth UNC player to opt out of the season, with Brown saying that Ross also intends to transfer after he graduates.
A vast majority of the Tar Heel players—and players across the country–have already expressed their desire to play this fall even with all of the risks associated.
For those that are gearing up to play, Brown gave them credit for the way they’ve stuck to all of the safety precautions in place. Wearing masks during practice hasn’t been a major issue, while both the offense and defense have already figured out the way they want their chairs on the sideline arranged to keep up with social distancing requirements.
“Our guys are really trying hard,” Brown said. “They read what’s written every day. They see what’s on the news every day. And they know that they control whether we play or not.
“We’ve told them, ‘It’s on you,’” the coach added. “If you want to play badly enough, you go by the rules.”
The harsh reality of the situation is that nobody really knows how the season will play out, or what will happen if teams begin testing positive and things need to be moved around or abandoned altogether.
On the field, Brown has spoken at length about how important it will be for the team to build depth—given that multiple players from the same position group could get infected simultaneously.
He’s also made sure to tell the rest of the coaching staff that he doesn’t want to hear any griping about the situation. Game plans will have to be created on short notice and numerous adjustments will have to come on the fly, but it’s no different than what every other program attempting to play this fall will be dealing with.
Making sure everyone is prepared for all scenarios is the best Brown can really do for the team at this point, especially with the virus controlling what happens down the road.
“One of the coaches said one day in a meeting, ‘Are we ever going to talk more football and less COVID?’” Brown said. “I said if we don’t make sure we control COVID, we can’t have football. So, y’all wake up.”
It’s that kind of attention to detail that has the Tar Heels in a good position right now to begin the season, not to mention the added benefit of the students being forced off campus.
A lot can happen between now and Sept. 12, but for now those within the UNC program are beginning to see a little light at the end of what has been a dark tunnel.
“For our players and our coaches,” Brown said. “This is really the first time everybody feels like we’re getting this close to playing and that this is really going to happen.”
Photo via Matthew Fedder (UNC Athletics)
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