KANSAS CITY, Mo. — College football coaches continue to navigate an offseason complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and NCAA safety regulations.
On his weekly Zoom call Wednesday, University of Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz spoke candidly on the current measures and their impact on MU’s day-to-day football operations.
“As coaches, we’re learning new stuff every single day. What I’ve advised our football team is to take this as an extreme threat,” Drinkwitz said.
Players are currently allowed limited access to the facility on a voluntary basis. While participating, the group of 20 players at a time are required to stay six feet apart or wear a face covering if social distancing guidelines cannot be followed.
Squad’s all here 💯#MIZ x #NewZou 🏈🐯 pic.twitter.com/azgrXZhhsM
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) June 6, 2020
“You can do everything right and still get COVID-19,” the first-year coach continued. “I don’t have a perfect answer but if someone gets it... they get it. And we have MU Health and we’re going to do everything we can for them.”
MU said it's had meetings with parents to discuss the safety measures taken but will not require students to sign a coronavirus-related waiver to participate.
“We’ve put extreme thought and caution into that aspect of it and we’ve asked them to do the same thing on a daily basis,” Drinkwitz added. “I’ve asked them to accept the responsibility as young men that this is a threat and it’s imperative for them to do everything possible.”
Mizzou opens the season Sept. 5 against Central Arkansas.
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