Will Charlotte 49er football’s handshaking policy survive coronavirus pandemic?

Handshakes are a hallmark of Charlotte 49ers football culture.

Players are required to shake hands with at least four people after practice (all of which are open to the public), in addition to as many people and students as possible around campus and in classrooms.

But, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, 49ers coach Will Healy says he’s being forced to reconsider his handshake mandate.

“I’ve probably thought about that more than anything else during this whole thing, no lie,” Healy said. “I definitely think that early on, when we get back to whatever normal’s going to be, we’re going to have to maybe not shake hands. We’ll greet our guests where it’s maybe more conversational and keep the social distancing. We don’t want to do anything that’s against what our public officials say to do.”

Healy is not alone in his thinking. The future of handshaking across society as a form of greeting has come under scrutiny due to the coronavirus.

The goal of Healy’s handshake rule is to have his players be more accessible to fans and students, to have them feel they’re more part of the campus community and not on some football-players-only island.

The 49ers’ handshake practice received a degree of national attention in February when former defensive end Alex Highsmith, participating in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, began an interview with several reporters by shaking all their hands.

“From now on, maybe we’ll greet a guest and just say, ‘hey,’ because everybody knows what’s going on,” Healy said. “Just say thanks for coming, because that’s what’s really important. Maybe it’ll be a fist pound, or dap it up, whatever it is.

“But the overall focus will always be on being thankful they’re (at practice). You can continue that without a handshake. I’ve always thought you can tell a lot about a person with how they shake hands and look you in the eye. But if the safest thing is to move on from it, I get it.”

49ers sign 4-star recruit

The Observer confirmed Thursday that Charlotte has signed offensive lineman Ty’Kiest Crawford, a four-star recruit who originally signed with Arkansas before decommitting from the Razorbacks last October. Crawford, who is from Carthage, Texas, is 6-foot-5, 335 pounds and would be a significant addition to Charlotte’s offensive line, which loses three starters to graduation from last season’s team that went 7-6.