Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1271864
18 AUGUST 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL N o t re D a m e f o o t b a l l h a s reached the halfway point of its summer plans without any major complications, which relative to other programs around the country is not an accomplishment to shrug off. Between June 15 and July 20, Notre Dame administered 356 CO‑ VID‑19 tests to football players, coaches and staff, and had two posi‑ tive cases, both being players. One has since returned to workouts. The other, per a July 20 announcement, is in isolation, while four teammates had to self‑quarantine after contact tracing revealed they had meaning‑ ful exposure. With a nearly 100 percent healthy team, Notre Dame can proceed to walk‑throughs with a ball, which were allowed to begin July 24 as the first step in the NCAA's six‑week return‑to‑play plan. Players and staff will be tested every two weeks dur‑ ing the summer before the start of a new "phase." Testing will bump up to once per week during the season. Here's what has happened so far and the rest of the summer schedule as it stood in late July: • June 15: Players reported back to campus and checked in to the Mor‑ ris Inn, the on‑campus hotel where they will stay this summer. They're in single‑occupancy rooms, and their meals are brought to the hotel. Play‑ ers that drove back to campus were quarantined for three days, and those who flew did a seven‑day quaran‑ tine. Summer classes began June 15 as well, with all instruction online. Classes ran through July 24. • June 22: Voluntary workouts began, known as Phase I in Notre Dame's plan. Players were allowed to work out in groups of up 10 peo‑ ple. The strength and conditioning staff, led by Matt Balis, was allowed to run workouts. Masks are required for everyone who is indoors lifting weights. All meetings with coaches were done over Zoom. • July 13: This marked the start of Smooth Summer Notre Dame is halfway through its summer plans, and so far they have been able to stick to the schedule and keep COVID-19 cases at a minimum Brian Kelly and Notre Dame have seen only two positive cases of COVID-19 and have completed six weeks of workouts without issue. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER