ATHENS – Georgia sporting director Greg McGarity said his team and players did not need COVID-19 reminders, but Wednesday’s Tuscaloosa news was revealing
« It certainly sends a message, everyone better be careful, » McGarity told DawgNation on Wednesday night. « We hope everyone is doing well »
Alabama coach Nick Saban and Tide athletic director Greg Byrne have announced they have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, leaving many wondering what could possibly come next
« It’s definitely a wake-up call, » said UGA top receiver Kearis Jackson « We just have to keep doing the right things here and wearing our masks »
The No 3 (3-0) ranked Bulldogs must play the 2 (3-0) ranked No Tide at 8 pm Saturday in Tuscaloosa (TV: CBS)
« Our protocol here remains in place, » said McGarity, whose team is set to leave Athens on Friday « We are testing Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday We continue to follow the plans we have worked on and put in place »
« We are still making progress, » said Sankey « We have tests Thursday and results Friday I describe it as the ‘hold your breath’ moments We will keep moving forward »
The LSU-Florida and Vanderbilt-Missouri games that were scheduled for this Saturday have already been postponed to December 12 – a week before the scheduled SEC Championship game in Atlanta – due to positive COVID-19 tests
The league built on December 12 as an open week with the possibility of COVID-19 carry over in place
« Hopefully there won’t be several games that the teams have to miss, » said McGarity. « You’re planning things like this
« We all take care of it as SEC athletic directors and we know the consequences when the virus hits »
Indeed, and that’s why McGarity and Georgia were proactive ahead of the Bulldogs’ home game last Saturday against Tennessee, sending out notifications to students with tickets to the game.
The previous week, with Auburn at Sanford Stadium, photos of the UGA student section breaking social distancing rules had surfaced
“We sent constant messages because we were able to target the more than 3,000 students who had tickets to the game and educate them,” said McGarity “We have also stepped up our implementation and monitoring of social distancing
« We were extremely happy with the game’s operations in Tennessee, and our students were exceptional, we had no issues with social distancing from this game »
Georgia coach Kirby Smart praised his players’ responsibility for complying with the team’s COVID-19 policy
But Smart on Wednesday referred to how unpredictable the COVID-19 virus can be and how it continues to hide
« The most important thing is that you are someday, a test, a situation far from a possible situation like Florida, » said Smart « We were very lucky »
For playing a football game, the SEC has established minimum thresholds of at least 53 scholarship holders available to participate and the following minimum number of scholarship holders available to start a game:
The concerned institution has the option of playing the game with less than 53 stock players or less than the minimum number of positional players listed above if it chooses to do so Otherwise, upon approval of the commissioner, the match would be postponed or declared uncontested
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Georgia Bulldogs Football, Greg McGarity, Alabama Crimson Tide Football, Southeastern Conference, Florida Gators Football, LSU Tigers Football
World News – USA – Georgia responds to COVID-19 situation in Alabama football, ‘everyone better be careful’
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
