About an hour ago
Perhaps Pitt wide receiver D.J. Turner captured best what it means to play, coach and follow college football this season.
“This is the year you have to be flexible because you never know what the next day is going to bring,” he said.
As of Wednesday morning, there have been 65 games postponed or canceled as a result of issues with the coronavirus. That includes Pitt’s game against Georgia Tech that was to be played last Saturday and has been moved to Dec. 12.
So far, eight games scheduled this week have been postponed or canceled.
A game in the MAC between Ohio and Miami (Ohio) was canceled Tuesday, and Arizona State will miss its second game in two weeks Saturday at Colorado.
Also, Wake Forest’s game at Duke won’t be played Saturday, and the ACC has not set a makeup date. No. 12 Miami, hoping to squeeze into the ACC Championship game Dec. 19, is off until Dec. 5.
Pitt is practicing Wednesday after resuming drills Tuesday in hopes of playing the final scheduled home game of the season Saturday at Heinz Field against Virginia Tech. The Panthers weren’t able to resume practice until they received favorable results from Sunday’s covid tests, the first of three this week.
Coach Pat Narduzzi regularly warns his players to remain vigilant against the virus.
“We expect to play the Virginia Tech game. We hope we’re not let down again,” he said.
“It will be up to our team and players on how safe they are out there. And we talk constantly about wearing a mask, staying socially distanced and pretend everybody has got it. Everybody on your team has got it, and everybody in Oakland has got it.
“Wash your hands and be more accountable for that.”
After Pitt had no absentees as a result of covid-related protocols for five consecutive games from Sept. 26 to Oct. 24, the university reported one for the Florida State game Nov. 7. Narduzzi declined to reveal how many players would have been unavailable for the Georgia Tech game.
Somewhere, exposures appeared.
“As the year went by,” Turner said, “we got eight games in and everything was looking good. We kind of got too comfortable and forgot about what was going on in the rest of the world.
“It just brought us back to you still need to be flexible and be able to change on the move and do whatever we have to do to finish out the season.
“We have to keep that up now. We want to finish out the season. We gotta do what we gotta do.”
Turner said there is concern on the team, but players trust their coaches and medical personnel to keep them safe.
“There is a lot of concern. But at the same time, you can go pick up some food and get covid,” he said. “It’s everywhere.
“I know a lot of people are worried about their health and well-being, but I feel like we all trust the training staff and coaching staff to put us in the best position possible to not get it.”
Pitt assistant coach Andre Powell believes players are resilient enough to make the best of the situation.
“It’s always disappointing when you lose a guy who’s a mainline guy,” he said. “Everyone knows, everyone that’s tested positive knows with a little more caution, they probably could have prevented it. But our kids are tough, and anytime a guy goes down that’s just going to create an opportunity for another guy. We don’t make excuses. We don’t expect any letdowns.”
Senior linebacker Chase Pine said some players wondered how the virus infiltrated the team.
“It’s going to happen on its own,” he said. “It’s a silent, little killer. It got us, but we’ll come back strong.”
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Pitt | Sports
November 18, 2020 at 11:27PM
https://triblive.com/sports/pitt-others-discover-anythings-possible-when-silent-little-killer-strikes/
Pitt, others discover anything's possible when 'silent, little killer' strikes - TribLIVE
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