CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte football held its first practice on Friday.
Normally at this time of year 49ers coach Will Healy is answering for his players about the offensive system, or what the upcoming opponent is like. But this year he's getting questions that aren't always easy to answer.
"The conversations are so different," Healy told the media on a Zoom call, Friday. "The communication being up front and honest and gaining their trust when it comes to them knowing about it first."
This is Healy's second season at the helm -- in year one the 49ers went to their first bowl game and won a program-record 7 games.
He's a constant communicator, but at the beginning of this camp what's being communicated boils down to safety and health.
"I think the important part of it is that guys are comfortable with what our protocol is and what we're doing to keep them safe," he said. "That we can keep them safe. They're all going through it for the first time whether they're a senior or whether they're a freshman."
The protocols include daily health screenings, temperature checks and symptom surveys. Coaches, staff and student-athletes undergo PCR testing once per week, conducted by Atrium Health professionals.
Since June 10th -- Charlotte's athletics department has conducted 494 total tests across all sports -- mostly football -- and had six positive cases within the entire department.
When the season starts -- Healy says the Niners will follow the NCAA recommendation and test players 72 hours before each game.
"Obviously the guys who test positive will not be capable of playing," Healy said. "The guys who have symptoms on game day will not be able to play. So it's going to be a revolving door in some of those aspects."
Another big question that's hard to answer? When will the 49ers first game be and who will it be against?
The Niners first two games against Tennessee and Norfolk State were canceled.
Right now their first scheduled game is Sept. 26th against Georgia State, but they are hoping to fill out games on the schedule before that.