Coastal Carolina football only mildly impacted by coronavirus before opener at Kansas
The first game of the unprecedented 2020 season is nearly upon Coastal Carolina, and the team has managed to slalom its way through the coronavirus pandemic well enough to prepare for Kansas this week with nearly a full complement of players.
Head coach Jamey Chadwell said Wednesday that four players who would have contributed in Saturday night’s game at Kansas won’t be traveling with the team as a result of testing through last Wednesday.
The players are either in isolation because of a positive test or in quarantine because they were in contact with an individual who tested positive.
“We’ll be missing probably four guys that would contribute to our team for this game from a previous testing, from quarantine basically,” Chadwell said. “Not necessarily starters, but guys who would have contributed heavily in special teams and in backup roles.”
Coastal players and staff have to test three days this week before playing at Kansas — on Monday, Wednesday and Friday — and Chadwell said the team did not lose any players because of Monday’s tests who were expected to play this week.
“We’re still a little anxious because of all the testing we have to do,” Chadwell said. “We’ve still got two things we’ve got to get through to see who’s actually getting on the plane for the trip.”
The university is reporting every Friday morning weekly positive case numbers through 5 p.m. Wednesday.
There were only three positive cases at the school reported the week of Aug. 20-26, but there were 56 from Aug. 27-Sept. 2, bringing the total to 122 positive cases since testing began June 8. Students living in on-campus residences moved in by Sept. 3 — more than 4,000 were expected — and in-person classes began Tuesday, though students also have the option of taking classes online for the fall semester.
The positive cases are a combination of all symptomatic testing, regular surveillance testing of student-athletes per NCAA and conference guidelines, and positive test results reported by students and employees, though the university concedes it may not be aware of all tests taken by university employees or students.
A significant number
The number 24 has been a focus of the Chants all offseason.
Its significance?
Coastal went 5-7 last season, and five of the losses — to Eastern Michigan, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Arkansas State and Louisiana Monroe — were by a total of 24 points.
So the coaching staff has emphasized how one or two plays, or one or two mistakes or deficiencies, in each of those losses may have determined the outcome.
“Those 24 points could have easily been flipped in any of those games,” senior linebacker Teddy Gallagher said. “You know we had a triple overtime game, we had another one-point game. It’s just paying attention to the little details, and those were the difference in those games, you know guys jumping offsides, missing an assignment here or there. So we feel if we can correct those things we can win a lot more games this season.”
Gallagher said as he watches 2019 game film to prepare for upcoming games, how close the Chants came to a few more wins becomes apparent.
“I’ll go back and look at some games from last year and I’ll think to myself, ‘Man, we were really one play away from this game,’ ” Gallagher said. “Then you turn on another one, it’s like, ‘Man, we were really one play away from this game, too.’ ”
If Coastal can stay relatively healthy this season, the Chants believe an elevated talent level and increased depth, particularly in the defensive front seven, will allow them to make up those points late in games.
“I think we’ve closed the [talent] gap within the conference between the young guys coming in and the guys with experience,” CCU defensive coordinator Chad Staggs said. “. . . To close that gap in points is going to be about having a deeper team that you can close games out in the fourth quarter. We’re getting closer. I’m not saying we’re exactly there, because some of these guys are still young, but from a talent level and development level we’re closer now to be able to close games out because we’re going to be deep enough and not have to play as many snaps up front. You have to be fresher up front and we were not last year.”
Mystery under center
Junior Fred Payton has established himself as the frontrunner for the starting quarterback job this offseason after leading the team in 2019 with 119 completions, 187 attempts, 1,421 passing yards, 12 passing TDs, seven interceptions and 1,602 total yards of offense.
But will he start Saturday at Kansas?
Chadwell said Wednesday he has decided on a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game, but won’t say who just yet.
“We’ll play a little cat-and-mouse I guess with Kansas,” Chadwell said. “He’s been with the [starters] for the last part of the week. But we have decided on that and he’ll be our guy moving forward.”
Payton missed more than a week of practices because of a sore Achilles tendon, which gave fellow junior Bryce Carpenter of Sarasota, Florida., and redshirt freshmen Grayson McCall of Indian Trail, N.C., time to work with the starting offense.
Payton returned to unrestricted practices last Monday, when he took live reps for the first time in nearly two weeks.
McCall has little experience and Carpenter played in 11 games last season and started the final six, in part because of injuries to Payton.
Eyes upon the Chants
There are two reasons Coastal Carolina may have a lot of people across the U.S. watching it play Saturday night.
First, the game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1 (FS1). Second, it kicks off at 10 p.m. (Eastern), and will be the only college football game among 19 Saturday that starts after 8 p.m.
“It’s an awesome deal. Of course on the East Coast they might all be asleep by 10 o’clock,” Chadwell said. “But anytime you can get on national television it’s a positive, no matter who you’re playing. no matter what you’re doing, that’s a big deal. You can showcase your university, you can showcase obviously your football program. You never know who’s watching. . . . Maybe some people on the West Coast will become Chanticleers.
“Hopefully we’ll play well. That’s always good, too.”
In preparation for the late start, CCU offensive lineman Trey Carter said the team practiced for a couple hours beginning at 10 p.m. last Friday night. Coastal will fly to Lawrence, Kansas, on Friday.
“We’re going to finish that game most likely any time between 1 and 2 a.m. our time, so how do you get used to that?” Chadwell said. “[The players] might be used to it, they might be used to it out and about with some ladies and some of those things that late on a Saturday night.”
Sans spectators
No spectators will be allowed at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for Saturday’s game.
“It’s definitely going to be tough because sometimes players feed off the crowd,” said CCU junior running back Shermari Jones, who transferred from Independence Community College in Kansas. “That whole environment is definitely going to be something unordinary. But I feel we’ll be up for the test.”
Saturday’s game
What: Coastal Carolina at Kansas
When: 10 p.m. (Eastern)
Where: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium
TV: Fox Sports 1 (FS1)
Radio: WRNN 99.5 FM
Online: www.goccusports.com
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 3:33 PM.
