With a new opponent on a new date, a fraction of the typical stadium capacity and a ban on tailgating at Arkansas, Georgia’s season opener against the Razorbacks will be a testament to the changes COVID-19 has imposed on college football.

But the hard part is making it to Sept. 26 safely — a task Georgia coaches have no choice but to leave to their athletes.

“I think our guys have taken it very serious from the beginning,” said defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. “I think a lot of credit goes to [senior associate athletic director] Ron Courson and our medical staff, really educating our guys from day one.”

While coaches and medical personnel have repeatedly said their athletes have been cautious since the NCAA granted programs the permission to begin on-campus summer workouts on June 8, the UGA Athletic Association never released information about how many — if any — of its players contracted the coronavirus in the past 12 weeks. Courson said the association plans to maintain its silence this fall.

“Our philosophy is we don’t share medical information,” Courson said in an Aug. 7 press conference. “On the other hand, we’re extremely transparent within our organization. We communicate with our parents with anything we have. We communicate with our staff and our medical staff. We’re not going to release numbers [to the public], and that’s our prerogative.”

Whether Courson’s education on health and safety protocols has been effective or not, head coach Kirby Smart said he’s letting team leaders bridge the gap between what they’re told and what they do.

As senior defensive back Richard LeCounte may have more riding on playing a season this fall than a fresh recruit, Smart wants team leaders to ensure that individual carelessness doesn’t jeopardize the season.

Redshirt sophomore Azeez Ojulari highlighted LeCounte, junior offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer and himself as vocal in advocating for preventive techniques outside of Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, where the Bulldogs meet and practice.

Those protocols, such as mask wearing and social distancing, became more important once the university’s campus reopened for in-person learning Aug. 20. Confirmed coronavirus cases in Athens-Clarke County reached 2,491 as of Aug. 23, including 504 positive tests among UGA students, faculty and staff.

As Courson said a virus-free fall season is unlikely, the team’s focus is on risk mitigation rather than complete prevention.

“Obviously, whenever you have a large group of people coming back to campus, you’re concerned about a spike [in positive COVID-19 cases],” Smart said. “What we control is what we do outside of our building, outside of our bubble. So we’ve told our guys that regardless of what the student population does … it doesn’t control what you do as one of our players.”

The fate of the football season is not dependent solely on the Bulldogs. Athletes know that if the student population at large relaxes with COVID-19 safety, both their health and their season are at risk.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shut down athletic activities for four days after multiple coronavirus outbreaks forced the university to move to remote learning. Still, the Atlantic Coast Conference has not folded its football plans, expecting member schools to begin their seasons between Sept. 7-12.

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Kearis Jackson saw Smart’s strategy as extending beyond the practice field. He warned that the student body will have to take a page from Georgia football’s coronavirus playbook to see the Bulldogs in uniform this fall. Sophomore linebacker Nakobe Dean echoed his teammate’s call to set an example.

“I challenge my student body, my peers … to wear their face mask just like we’ll be doing in class,” Dean said.

Even if the SEC’s momentum carries teams through to the Sept. 26 projected start date, cautious off-field behavior will remain vital. The conference expanded its testing regimen on Aug. 21 from two required polymerase chain reaction tests each week of competition to two PCR tests and one rapid diagnostic test “close to competition,” according to the SEC’s statement. The guidelines require athletes who test positive to isolate for 10 days without physical activity, and their close contacts must quarantine for two weeks.

During the practice period, Georgia can tolerate players in isolation or quarantine. But with Auburn and Alabama positioned in games two and four this fall, respectively, mid-week lapses have the potential to sour Georgia’s season before November.

Although adaptability is Smart’s buzzword for 2020, health-sustaining choices whenever possible can prevent costly on-the-fly adjustments.

“You can make decisions to not go into environments that are risky and wear a mask to protect yourself,” Smart said. “And that’s what we’re driving home.”

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports