Effects Of The Shutdown Hitting UNC Football

Classes resumed Monday at the University of North Carolina, though not in a manner most students are accustomed.

Online classes are the norm now for the rest of the spring semester after it was cancelled nearly two weeks ago due to the coronavirus outbreak gripping the nation. And with the ACC also cancelling all team functions for athletics, most of the Tar Heels’ football players headed home and started their classwork online Monday, as well.

The effect of the pandemic is across the board in all walks of life, and for a college football program used to a daily regimen that includes a plethora of activity in and around the team’s facilities, it has been forced to shift gears to never-before chartered waters while still satisfying its needs.

“I'm having to really be creative and try to look at some new and some different things,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said Monday afternoon in a virtual press conference with local media.

So, in addition to the Tar Heels starting, they also began a structured online workout program Monday.

UNC was slated to start spring practice March 17, but never got in a single workout, though most of the other ACC teams had at least a few. And with all team functions cancelled, the coaching staff is not allowed to monitor any of the workouts, either in person or virtually. Strength and conditioning coach Brian Hess can, though.

Hess has put together a variety of workouts, as each position group does different things, and in some cases each player has a specific regimen from his training to his diet.

“It's different because Coach Hess has a program for those that have weights available and he's got a program for those that don't,” Brown said. “He's actually teaching guys in their own homes how to continue to get stronger or at least maintain your strength without any weights.”

The players are also working out on their own, as Brown noted groups in the Charlotte and Atlanta areas have gotten together, though the head coach also noted they’ve exercised proper social distancing protocol.

The sweeping and abrupt changes have forced the coaches and other football personnel at the Kenan Football Center to adjust from what was the norm.

“Our building is shut down,” Brown said. “Our receptionists are gone home, my assistant’s gone home, all the coaches are working from home. In fact, coach (John) Lilly is back in Cleveland with his family, Coach (Jovan) Dewitt is in Myrtle Beach with his mother and dad...

“So, guys are scattered everywhere. We just basically have shut everything down and said, ‘Do everything online from your house, from your apartment.’”

The coaches still need to meet and conduct business as usual, at least as best they can.

Two weeks ago, Brown had never heard of Zoom, a remote video conferencing program. Now he’s basically an expert. The staff meets on Zoom every day, so having high speed wifi is paramount, a reason Brown remains in Chapel Hill instead of spending this time at his home in the mountains near Boone.

“We're all creatures of a routine and they’re out of one, so now we've asked their parents, we've asked them to help,” Brown said. “We're having Zoom meetings with our academic counselors and us and the players.”

Among the other challenges is making sure the players get the gear and goods needed as part of their scholarship but also to help with workouts. Team nutritionist Kelsee Gomes has been in touch with each player, most of whom have unique diets, the players are receiving new Jordans this week and they are also receiving their scholarship checks.

“We're trying to do everything within our capabilities of helping our guys to get a new routine and make sure that they move forward with that routine,” Brown said.

Recruiting has also been greatly affected. Had this virus pandemic never occurred, UNC could host recruits on campus and in the facilities, but that has also been suspended by the NCAA. The staff can recruit, but only via email, texting and facetiming, the latter of which the prospects must initiate.

The entire world is dealing with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, and in the little corner known as UNC football, the goal is to normalize as best as it can, as shrouded in uncertainty as things are.