georgia football covid 19 college football playoff

You probably have a lot of questions regarding the health and safety protocols of the Georgia football team. As the Omicron variant leads to a spike in cases nationwide, there’s a refreshed curiosity in how this Georgia team goes about navigating the trip to Miami and the upcoming days.

Safety Lewis Cine was asked about the COVID protocols for this Georgia team and as far as what comes next.

“I honestly know as little as you do. A larger percentage of the team, probably 98 percent or 99 percent of the team is vaccinated,” Cine said. “Other than that I don’t really know what’s going on other than that.”

The Georgia football team arrived in Miami on Sunday with masks donned from the moment they stepped off the bus. The Bulldogs also pushed multiple times prior to leaving for Miami to get booster shots for the vaccine. Michigan did the same, with the Wolverines arriving on Saturday.

There’s an understanding that the team that is best able to navigate the challenges by COVID will be the team that has an edge not just in the College Football Playoff semifinals but in the national championship game as well.

As has been the case per NCAA guidelines, Georgia only has to test vaccinated players who are showing symptoms. Unvaccinated players are tested more frequently. Georgia has at least one prominent play dealing with the virus as JT Daniels is in protocols. Daniels, who is reportedly vaccinated, was one of the few players not spotted on Sunday.

“They’re just stressing to us be safe and make good decisions,” safety Chris Smith said. “COVID is pretty much everywhere right now. You can’t really dodge it right now, you just need to be safe.”

We’ll get a better idea of how much COVID has impacted the Georgia team on Monday when the Bulldogs hold practice. Most of the team has been spotted in Miami, whether it be when arriving in Miami or on social media.

The Bulldogs do have a handful of customary bowl activities planned for the week. On Sunday night the team had a team dinner and outing on a yacht.

But Georgia knows it has something far more important to take care of come Friday, when it takes on Michigan. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff

“I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for our medical staff,” defensive coordinator Dan Lanning said. “I give our players a lot of credit on being diligent with their precautions. But we came here to win a football game. There’s no secret what we came here for.”

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