UVA’s bubble protecting Cavaliers, but what about outside the bubble?

Posted on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, 6:16 pm

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Louisville AD says ACC will press on

By Jerry Ratcliffe

UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall dons a mask and emphasizes social distancing at Monday’s first practice (Photo: UVA Athletics).

Bronco Mendenhall believes that Virginia’s “bubble” for its football players is the safest place on the planet in guarding against the coronavirus.

In fact, there has been no positive test results for any UVA student-athletes over the past few weeks.

While rumors swirled earlier in the day that the Big 10 would cancel its football season against many of its head coaches’ wishes, Mendenhall was candid and transparent with his thoughts about whether football is going to happen this fall.

“We’ve had amazing numbers in terms of controlling the virus numbers in our program,” Mendenhall said after the Cavaliers completed their first day of training camp Monday. “We have done a very good job of controlling that component.

“However, that does not reflect the community spread and doesn’t reflect the nationwide numbers, and it doesn’t reflect the worldwide pandemic. Football is secondary to all those things in my opinion, and so this to me isn’t a football-only issue. This is a worldwide issue and a national issue, a state issue and a community issue.”

Mendenhall said his players are still in the bubble created by UVA, but noted that when students return to campus and players are asked to go outside the bubble, it becomes an entirely different management issue that the nation hasn’t solved.

“Everyone has said healthy and safety are first and foremost, and I’m exactly there,” the coach said. “I think we’ve done a great job with our program in this virtual bubble for this time being. That does not mean it’s sustainable or lasting, where anyone else has a handle on it up to this point. I think there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done.”

Mendenhall said he has not been alerted to where the ACC presently stands on the play or not-play issue as of Monday morning, however Louisville coach Scott Satterfield told reporters that in his frequent conversations with athletic director Vince Tyra, the AD indicated that the ACC is moving forward toward playing this fall.

“Carla (Williams, UVA’s AD) lets me know when there’s discussions and gives me an idea about what other ADs and other leagues are thinking as well,” Mendenhall said. “But it’s morphing so quickly and I know the word everyone uses is fluid.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to have decisions made today, tomorrow, next week in relation to where we stand. What is clear to me is we don’t have enough numbers nationally and the numbers worldwide just don’t seem to reflect progress. Regardless of how well we do within football, I have to acknowledge that as well.”

Mendenhall said he was at peace with how well UVA has handled the pandemic.

“There just seems to be a lot more that hasn’t been controlled effectively, that eventually we’re going to run into if we want to play, and those questions still linger,” the coach said.

A player uprising around the country that favors playing, including Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, appeared to be growing strongly on Monday. Mendenhall has noticed.

In fact, UVA tailback Wayne Taulapapa tweeted out: “I will put our bubble over any bubble right now. UVA doing the most to keep us boys safe. Let’s Play!!”

“I’ve been paying attention as much as I can,” Mendenhall said about players’ voices. “Certainly the players are the ones playing the game and they are taking on their level of risk. That is something that we’ve really tried to present as clearly as possible, and then committing to do everything we can to help mitigate that risk as much as we can.

“Anytime there’s communication from player, coach, administration, I take it as quite frankly that they mean it and they’re sincere and their intentions are what they say. So whether it comes from an administration level, a coach level, a player level, there is a sense of, I think, purity, but also a sense of pretty focused and narrow in terms of scope.

“When you add the coaches’ view and the administrative view and the health view and the leadership view from a conference and an institution, that usually then frames this narrative in a more comprehensive way. So I’m glad we have those voices. I’m glad we have that input, but that alone doesn’t choose as that’s only one portion of the collective and this is a collective issue.”

Mendenhall acknowledged, as has Alabama coach Nick Saban and others, that players are probably much safer at school than they would be if they returned home, at least in many instances.

Only five UVA players have opted not to return to the team for training camp, although the coach said not all of those were Covid-19 related. He declined to release the names of those players.

Should the ACC decide to press onward, Mendenhall said that Virginia will be ready to open the season on time. The Cavaliers are scheduled to open at home against VMI on Friday, Sept. 11.

“I haven’t felt rushed or anything,” the coach said. “I still feel like there’ll be probably more than ample time, basically five weeks of preparation time.”

Virginia has used technology, especially through Zoom virtual meetings, to help assess where the team was in terms of learning and conditioning.

“There have been markers and benchmarks along the way that have made me feel more comfortable and not as rushed quite frankly with where we started,” Mendenhall said.

Virginia’s coaches are wearing masks in practice, the players are using full-face visors over their helmets, and some an additional cloth mask over face masks. Mendenhall monitored social distancing on the opening day of camp, requiring players putting their arms out, and if they touch anyone, the play isn’t run until the players are spaced adequately.

“I would love to say I’m just coaching football, but actually my coaches are coaching football more right now and I’m simply coaching social distancing and the cultural pandemic protocols necessary to pull it all off,” he said. “To be honest, as we started with just masks and then we put on helmets and start to line up across from each other, each stage requires new protocols and a new emphasis.”