Following an open date this week, Georgia will make its third road trip in five games this season, traveling to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats. For the well-traveled Bulldogs, a trip to Kentucky will signify another unique situation, especially for those experienced players for whom wearing masks and social distancing are the new norm.

“At the hotels, we try to take the stairs more. That way, [the players are] isolated,” said junior punter Jake Camarda when asked how road trips this year have differed from those in previous seasons. “So, it’s just our guys taking the stairs—little less elevators—because we don’t want to come in contact with too many people.”

Camarda, who currently leads the FBS with a punting average of 50.7, added that the visiting locker rooms the Bulldogs have used this season have been tight-quartered. Yet according to the punter, the team has done an excellent job of social distancing while “trying to stay as Covid-safe as possible.”

Other differences while on the road include that players are not only split up into smaller groups when eating out, but when sleeping, as well. And when possible, players room with those with whom they already live, off-campus in Athens.

“When we sit together for team meals, there are fewer people at the table,” said senior offensive lineman Justin Shaffer. “Instead of having two people in a [hotel] room, there’s sometimes just one—you’re by yourself. Or if you're in a room with someone, it’s someone you [already] stay with.”

Shaffer, who has started all four games this season at left guard, admitted that he had become more cognizant of avoiding certain things at a hotel—a store, for example—to remain completely safe. Regardless, according to the large lineman as well as Camarda, as long as they and their teammates continue to focus on their new-found norm of masks and social distancing, they’ll most likely remain safe while away from Athens.

“Again, social distancing and wearing our masks, that's been the key—the forefront thing we’re trying to accomplish,” Camarda said. “And, it’s something I think we’ve done a good job at.”