San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Colton McKivitz (68) against the Washington Football Team during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The 2020 football season was certainly nothing like Colton McKivitz had experienced before during his career that has stretched from Union Local to West Virginia and now to the San Francisco 49ers.

Interestingly, while the transition from the college to the professional ranks was definitely a major part of that, it probably wasn’t the biggest or toughest part.

“It was a crazy (season),” McKivitz said earlier this week as he spent some time in the Ohio Valley visiting with family and even filming a commercial for an area business.

“It was an awesome year from the aspect of being a late-round pick to getting to start a few games and playing well in them.”

The part that was new to McKivitz and all of the players, coaches and everyone else in the National Football League was staging an entire season during the midst of a world-wide COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether it was no fans in the stands, daily coronavirus testing, protocols that greatly limited the NFL lifestyle or having to uproot the entire organization and move to Arizona during the course of the season because of COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County in California, McKivitz will have stories to tell for an entire lifetime.

“There was definitely a lot of adversity along the way,” McKivitz said.

“But, it was a great year overall. There were plenty of eye-opening experiences in terms of what I need to continue to work on. The biggest thing I learned this season was to never get comfortable. You have to keep pressing forward and continue to be the best (player) you can be.”

Active for every game other than those when he was on the COVID-19 list in mid-December, McKivitz made his first career start on Nov. 29.

Prior to starting at right guard, McKivitz saw action in a back-up role and also on field goal unit.

“I was on special teams the entire season and that field goal unit isn’t the easiest of jobs,” McKivitz laughed. “Guys were definitely coming off the ball a lot harder than they did in college.”

That special teams work was simply the appetizer for his post Thanksgiving treat was the opportunity to line up across from eventual hall of famer Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.

“Lining up against Aaron Donald was an eye-opening experience,” McKivitz revealed. “That was definitely being thrown into the fire, but that’s what the NFL is. The thing is while no other team may have Aaron Donald, they have guys a lot like him. That was really my most ‘I’m in the NFL moment.'”

All told, McKivitz made three starts at right guard and was a consistent member of the field goal unit.

Prior to going on the COVID list, which forced him to miss the game at Dallas, McKivitz felt really good about his performance in a loss to Washington.

“If you want to keep a job in the NFL, you have to play perfectly or pretty close to it,” McKivitz said. “My Washington tape was the best all year and I felt really confident coming out of that game.”

A few days after the Washington game, McKivitz reported to the team headquarters with a bit of a stuffy nose. Admittedly, in a normal season, he wouldn’t have thought much about it and went about his business and preparations.

Unfortunately, in the 2020 season, he had a feeling his next COVID-19 test may reveal something he didn’t want to see.

“There were three cases on the team,” McKivitz said. “And when I woke up with that stuffy nose, I thought I might be positive.”

He underwent his test, met with the training staff and by the next morning, he received a phone call from the COVID officials with the NFL to perform contact tracing, confirming his positive case.

“I was pretty much asymptomatic,” McKivitz said. “It really just felt like I had a cold.”

At this point in the season, the 49ers had been basically evicted from San Francisco and forced to relocate their entire operations to suburban Phoenix and lived out of a hotel.

Obviously, during his quarantine, McKivitz wasn’t permitted to remain in the original team hotel, so he was moved to a different hotel and put into seclusion.

“I was in on all of the meetings and did everything like normal except practice,” McKivitz said. “When practice was going on, I was studying tape.”

All told, it was a 10-day quarantine and then there was a medical examination to check his conditioning and heart. Once cleared, McKivitz was able to return to action when the 49ers played against the Cardinals the day after Christmas.

Though he admitted he felt fortunate to only miss the one game, McKivitz didn’t need long to realize that his conditioning wasn’t exactly where it was when he played 13 days prior.

“Coming off a walk-through practice and then playing in a NFL game is a whole lot different,” McKivitz said. “It was about the second series and I was gasping for air.”

As players and teams dealt with COVID-19 cases all season, McKivitz actually believes his bout with the virus “refreshed” him a bit for the final couple of weeks of the season.

“The rookie wall is definitely a thing,” McKivitiz said. “It actually hit me during training camp and then it comes and goes. But, when I had COVID, I was just at the point where I wanted out of that hotel and quarantine so badly. It felt like being on a bowl trip that never ended.”

Whether it was his play on the field, the way he meshed in the locker room, the rookie initiations or how he adapted to the professional athlete lifestyle, McKivitz believes he handled it quite well.

“In terms of the locker room, there wasn’t a real adjustment because you’re fortunate to be in a place with great people who love football and winning games,” McKivitz said. “Even with all of the protocols and rules we had, we were still a very close group. My thoughts on how the league works, the approach you need was missing early, but there was a point where it was like a 180-degree flip. Basically, being a pro is the biggest thing.”

According to McKivitz, his exit meeting with the 49er coaches was “good.”

“That meeting was the quickest thing I had all year,” McKivitz said. “Basically, they asked where you’re going, where you’re working out and said they were pleased with how I performed, but wished we could have been a little better.”

Now, the focus shifts to 2021. How this offseason looks as compared to 2019 and prior is still up in the air. The league has not formally announced whether organized team activities (OTAs) will be held, what training camp will look like and whether or not there will be a usual preseason.

“I am just looking forward to taking the next step,” McKivitz said. “This offseason is huge for me, personally, to work on the areas in which I need to continue to get better. I have to workout with the mindset of being a starter because that’s the goal and where my mind’s at.”

McKivitz doesn’t have any big plans for the offseason. He does expect to get back to the Ohio Valley at least once more before training camp this summer.

“There’s a lot better feeling this offseason than after last year because there’s no draft and interviews to deal with,” McKivitz said. “I’ve used the last three or so weeks to really recuperate from a 17-week season. I visited my girlfriend’s family in Iowa and then we came to Ohio. It’s just been great to be back and enjoy some time with family, friends and even see some snow.”

One of the biggest highlights of his return home was the first opportunity to meet his nephew, Huxley.

“I had only seen him in pictures and videos, so it was awesome to finally meet and hold him,” McKivitz said. “It was definitely one of the best feelings of being home was meeting him. Seeing my sister (Molly) and her husband (Darby Waller) so happy and with such a healthy little boy is amazing.”