After canceled game, Charlotte 49ers ready to face Georgia State — if they pass the test

The Charlotte 49ers don’t want to go through another week like last week. But, like every other college football team that’s playing this fall, here they are: Awaiting COVID-19 test results that will determine whether they play their home opener Saturday against Georgia State.

Last Thursday, the 49ers had to cancel their Saturday game at North Carolina after learning they had one positive test for the coronavirus, which in turn placed several members of their offensive line in contact tracing quarantine.

Charlotte’s players, coaches and staff are tested three times a week. Tuesday was the second time this week they’d been tested, with Friday being the final time. Results from Sunday’s first test were unavailable Tuesday.

“I think that’s going to be the story of 2020,” 49ers coach Will Healy said of awaiting for test results and then having to live by them. “You’d better be willing to play with who’s out there, whether they’re walk-ons, scout teams; it doesn’t matter if they’re a body and they play that position.

“We’re going to have to suit up. We’re still going to have some guys that are quarantined. But, you know, you should get those guys back, if all the tests go well.”

“If” being the operative word.

Healy said it was difficult to tell his players they wouldn’t be able to field a team to play North Carolina, just as it was to call Tar Heels coach Mack Brown to deliver the same news. Healy doesn’t want to have to do something similar again.

“I think it just opened a lot of the guys’ eyes, because we were planning to have a full season and that’s where all our mentality was,” 49ers receiver Victor Tucker said. “Saying that games could be taken away here and there, it kind of makes everyone more grateful to live in a moment and just enjoy every day we do have.”

The 49ers (0-1) listed 10 of the 16 offensive linemen on their roster as available for the season opener at Appalachian State on Sept. 12, including starters D’Mitri Emmanuel (left tackle); Jonathan Timmons (left guard); Jaelin Fisher (center); Ashton Gist (right guard); and Ty’kieast Crawford (right tackle). Gage Welborn, Jon Jacobs, Hunter Kelly and Dejan Rasuo also got in the game, with redshirt freshman Jaxon Hughes remaining on the bench.

The rest of the offensive line consists of true freshmen Jonny King, D.J. Bagwell, Arabee Muslim, Cameron Clark, Panda Askew and junior Jacob Webb. Healy has said he had five linemen who would have been available against North Carolina — presumably among the group that didn’t play at App State.

Because some players went into quarantine at different times than others, it’s unclear who and how many among the 16 offensive linemen will be available for Georgia State. Healy said the 49ers use different companies and facilities for the tests, depending on how quickly results can be obtained. He isn’t even updating the 49ers’ two-deep depth chart because of how unpredictable the situation has been.

“You kind of have to be flexible and fluid with your roster week to week because of what’s going on,” Healy said. “But how are the players accepting that, and in terms of trying to make sure that they don’t have to put you in that position of having to be flexible with your roster? I mean, obviously, nobody wants to be quarantined and in the contact tracing protocol. But they’re doing better than I am.”

Said linebacker Tyler Murray: “We were hurt last week. This was a wake up call for a lot of guys that really want to play. We have the whole team that wants to play. The guys who want to play will do the right things.”

Scouting Georgia State

▪ The Panthers (0-1) lost 34-31 in overtime against 19th-ranked Louisiana in their season opener last Saturday. It was also Georgia State’s Sun Belt Conference opener.

▪ The Panthers got 150 yards rushing from tailback Destin Coates, a junior who picked up 560 yards as a backup last season. He also had four catches for 21 yards against Louisiana.

▪ Redshirt freshman Cornelious Brown made his first career start against the Ragin’ Cajuns, completing 22-of-39 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. Brown is a dual-threat: He also rushed for 64 yards and a TD.

▪ The Panthers have two key players from Charlotte: Senior linebacker Trajan Stephens-McQueen (West Mecklenburg) and senior receiver Jonathan Ifedi (Vance). Stephens-McQueen, a preseason all-Sun Belt selection, led Georgia State in tackles last season and his 206 tackles rank sixth in program history.

49ers notes

▪ Healy said quarterback Chris Reynolds is “day-to-day” for the Georgia State game. Reynolds suffered an upper-body injury against App State and would not have played against UNC. Dom Shoffner will start Saturday if Reynolds can’t play. Healy also said he’s hopeful defensive end Markees Watts (lower-body injury) will be available for the Panthers game.

▪ Discussions continue about whether 49ers parents will be allowed to attend Saturday’s game. Healy said “I feel more optimistic than I did a week ago.”

Tuesday’s announcement from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office that stadiums holding at least 10,000 will be allowed up to 7% of capacity beginning Oct. 1 means as many as 1,071 fans would be able to attend 49ers games at 15,314-seat Richardson Stadium. Charlotte’s next game after Saturday’s is Oct. 17 against Florida International.

▪ Damon Weldon’s blocked field goal against the Mountaineers was the fifth in the 49ers’ eight-year history.

This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 4:31 PM.