The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1291402
OCTOBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 17 commissioner Kevin Warren sounded unequivocal: "The vote by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancel- lors (COP/C) was overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited," Warren wrote. Less than a month later, the Big Ten announced a return to football. Several conference representatives insisted the landscape changed in those intervening weeks. "From the onset of the pandemic, our highest priority has been the health and the safety of our stu- dents," noted Northwestern Presi- dent Morton Schapiro, the chairman of the Big Ten COP/C. "The new medical protocols and standards put into place by the Big Ten Return To Competition Task Force were pivotal in the decision to move forward with sports in the conference." The Big Ten announcement in- cluded a host of mandates regarding going forward with football. They include: • "Daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about practice/competi- tion." • Testing for athletes and anyone on the field, beginning Sept. 30, and a complex schedule for taking teams off the practice or competition fields, based on team and population posi- tivity rates. • Athletes testing positive for CO- VID-19 undergoing "comprehensive cardiac testing to include labs and biomarkers, [Electrocardiogram], Echocardiogram and a Cardiac MRI." They then need to get clearance from a university-designated cardiologist to return to action, and the soonest anyone can get back on the field is 21 days following a positive diagnosis. • The 14 Big Ten schools estab- lishing a cardiac registry to log the effect on those testing positive for COVID-19. Michigan President Dr. Mark Schlis- sel — whose training includes micro- biology and immunology; molecular, cellular and developmental biology; and internal medicine — responded to the move forward with football. "I want to share my support for the Big Ten decision to begin football competition next month," Schlissel said. "I join athletic director Warde Manuel and everyone at Michigan athletics in offering appreciation for all the athletes and coaches, the fans and the families who have been pre- paring for the possibility of playing in The Big House this fall. "Earlier I expressed my concern, shared by my fellow Big Ten Presi- dents and Chancellors, that we just didn't know enough about the health and safety concerns unique to inter- collegiate athletics to move forward with practices and competition. "As has been so true during this pandemic, we continue to learn more every day and we have adjusted our approach based on the new informa- tion that was developed. I especially want to thank the health and safety officials from the Big Ten campuses who have carefully assessed the risk and developed a stringent plan — that will include daily COVID-19 testing — to mitigate those risks for our student-athletes, coaches and others. While this approach will start with football, our hope is to use this same approach to resume competi- tion in other sports. "To our millions of fans world- wide, I again thank you for your understanding and your patience. Your support of our teams and our student-athletes is inspiring." MICHIGAN ROSTER UNDERGOES SIGNIFICANT CHANGES Less inspiring for many is the altera- tion of Harbaugh's anticipated roster, due to the uncertainty regarding the season. The Wolverines initially lost three starters, all of whom had report- edly signed with agents and planned to move ahead with a shot at the NFL. Offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield, wideout Nico Collins and cornerback Ambry Thomas all announced their intention to forego the 2020 cam- paign. That rendered the Wolverines will be without their top wide re- ceiver, best and most experienced cornerback, and their only returning starter from the 2019 offensive line. After the Big Ten announcement, it appeared there would be no reversals of decisions. Then Mayfield made the jaw-dropping announcement that he would, in fact, be coming back for his second year as a starter. Mayfield and others around the league wishing to return, who accepted no benefits after signing with agents, must get clear- ance from the NCAA to participate. At press time, there was no defini- tive word on whether Thomas or Collins might reconsider. Former Michigan offensive line- man Doug Skene, a regular contribu- tor to TheWolverine.com and owner of five Big Ten championship rings, reacted both to those who remain and those who do not. "I think it's great news," Skene said of Mayfield's decision to return. "It's great news for this year's team; it's great news for Jalen, too. He's only going to improve. He'll improve his skills, and therefore his draft stock, by having another really good year. It's a big win all the way around. "The other thing that really can't be measured is the impact of having Jim Harbaugh's squad will face arguably the toughest slate from the Big Ten's revamped schedule in 2020. In addition to playing East Division rivals Ohio State (No. 2) and Penn State (No. 7), it will also play the next two highest-ranked conference squads pos- sible from the AP Preseason poll: No. 12 Wisconsin and No. 19 Minnesota. U-M checked in at 16th in the listing. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL