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.