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At Cal, a Covid Survivor Keeps Watch Over Football’s Return

BERKELEY, Calif. — The first true day of football practice felt mostly like any other: players, coaches, balls, whistles.

But the head coach wore a mask up to his eyes, looking like a Halloween mummy. Equipment managers sprayed inanimate objects with a disinfectant from a Ghostbusters-style backpack. And the afternoon shadows spread early, as they do in October, usually the middle of the season.

Scurrying among the players, coaches and support staff — their numbers limited by state and local health officials — was a 47-year-old named Andrew McGraw. He wore shorts and a touch of gray in his hair.