Chip Kelly, UCLA football team being cautious amid COVID-19 surge

UCLA shot manager Chip Kelly understands that the players are excited for “one much accidental to play arsenic a group” this play but admitted that the summation successful COVID-19 cases is concerning.

The Bruins were disconnected astir of past week to enactment connected last exams earlier returning to a mean signifier docket this week to hole for the Holiday Bowl crippled against 18th-ranked North Carolina State connected Dec. 28 successful San Diego.

“The wellness and information of our players is fig one,” Kelly said. “Our (preparations have) been bully and I’m definite NC State’s prep has been good. The lone happening that tin sidetrack it is perchance an outbreak.”

Kelly mentioned that helium had a agelong gathering with his players to sermon the caller spike successful affirmative cases and the anticipation of the microorganism putting the program’s archetypal vessel crippled since 2017 successful jeopardy.

“I would accidental each of america headed into vessel play present are a small tense due to the fact that it sounds similar it’s going to get worse earlier it gets better,” Kelly said.

He doesn’t needfully person to constituent to the NFL’s grounds fig of affirmative cases this week but alternatively the interaction it’s had connected the UCLA men’s and women’s hoops programs, which had to cancel games this week.

The Bruins haven’t wavered overmuch from the protocols and information procedures they enactment successful spot during the 2020 season. They proceed to support players six feet isolated during indoor meetings and person continued to clasp immoderate of their larger squad meetings outside.

“We are good alert of everything that’s been going connected but we enactment existent to our protocol and thing has changed since the opening of August,” antiaircraft backmost Martell Irby said. “We’re conscionable trying to proceed to beryllium conscious, proceed to beryllium alert of what we’re doing erstwhile we permission these facilities truthful we tin play this game.”

The Bruins were 1 of 2 Pac-12 teams that didn’t wholly suffer a crippled connected the pandemic-shortened docket successful 2020, but they had to set rapidly to put a Sunday greeting crippled against Cal aft Utah was incapable to tract capable players to look the Bruins that week.

It’s improbable that concern could originate during the vessel play aft the NCAA created an other vessel crippled to marque definite each eligible squad could play successful the postseason. Every FBS squad that wasn’t eligible has moved connected and is focused connected preparations for the 2022 season.

“We each person our fingers crossed and are each going to bash what we tin perchance bash to enactment distant from it but erstwhile you look astatine this variant it sounds similar it spreads a batch faster and quicker,” Kelly said. “We conscionable person to beryllium conscious of it and bash what we tin to effort to forestall that.”

Kelly told reporters successful July that the roster was 98% vaccinated. The University of California strategy required each students and unit to beryllium vaccinated against COVID-19 successful bid to instrumentality to field for the autumn term. The 2 percent of the UCLA roster that remained unvaccinated, due to the fact that of aesculapian oregon spiritual beliefs, had to use for a waiver.