How Kansas State football players are staying safe as students return to campus
Just in case the Kansas State football team needed extra motivation to continue adhering to coronavirus safety protocols as students returned to campus over the weekend, a few warning flares were sent high into the air in other parts of the country.
At Oklahoma, the Sooners reported that nine of their players tested positive for COVID-19 after coach Lincoln Riley allowed them to return home during a break in preseason camp. A few hours north, at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane suspended practice because eight players tested positive for COVID-19. And at North Carolina, the Tar Heels moved all of their undergraduate classes online following a series of outbreaks on campus.
Some football coaches will undoubtedly use those developments as examples why it is of the utmost importance for their players to remain vigilant as the season approaches, but the Wildcats say they don’t need any reminders.
“The precautions we are taking at Kansas state, I think they are the best in the Big 12,” defensive end Wyatt Hubert said. “After seeing what other schools are doing on social media, I can pretty much say Kansas State is handling it the best way possible.”
“We do have the option to continue our classes online even if it isn’t an online class, so that just makes the players feel safe and protected. We can honestly say a lot of students aren’t going to follow procedures to help keep COVID down, but that is something we have to do. It is mandatory for football players.”
The Wildcats have already learned the high price that can come from letting their guard down, even for a few moments.
In June, they had to suspend all football workouts for three weeks when a coronavirus outbreak swept through their roster. Testing initially revealed no positive cases for the team, but a group of players gathering away from the football facility to play video games, and another group attending a lake party, caused a spike.
K-State coach Chris Klieman now calls that a “blessing in disguise” because the Wildcats treated it like a wake-up call. They haven’t had any major issues since, and the athletic department reported that no players had tested positive at the beginning of preseason camp.
Some students at K-State didn’t take the situation as seriously last weekend. Pictures surfaced on social media showing house parties spilling into the streets and packed bars in Aggieville, the college entertainment district in Manhattan, with very few masks in sight.
There had to be at least some level of temptation for K-State football players to join that scene, even though staying home was the smart move.
“We have definitely talked to them about the fact that this is the biggest challenge we have had thus far, in terms of handling our business away from the facility,” K-State assistant coach Van Malone said. “We have been in a bit of a bubble since we have been on campus. Now that you integrate the students back on campus, we have to make sure that we take the measures that we have done so well here in Vanier (Football Complex) and take those out into the classroom and the community.”
Malone went on to say that the Wildcats have handled themselves admirably all month and are taking the necessary steps to ensure there is a football season this fall.
Many K-State players, including Hubert, have decided to take all their classes online this semester, limiting their exposure to other students.
They received extra incentive to play Monday when county health officials granted K-State permission to host approximately 12,500 fans at home games this season, which is 25% of the stadium’s normal capacity.
K-State players understand they may need to make some sacrifices now to be able play in front of those fans in September.
“We can’t have young guys going out to large public gatherings,” running back Harry Trotter said. “We are just staying on top of them about that and helping them know what positions they can’t put themselves in.
“I think we have done a good job of that. No positive tests so far is amazing. I’m just hoping we can stay like that and keep everybody on the same page and stay smart, doing everything we possibly can to protect the team.”