[jwplayer wWKIpRcp-XNcErKyb]
June 15 was set to be a big day for the Wolverines freshman class, as it was previously reported that would be the day that the first-year players would all make their way to Ann Arbor.
However, they weren’t the only ones.
For the first time in 2020, those eligible to participate in winter conditioning notwithstanding, the Michigan football team — not just the freshmen — has started come together, and has started to return to campus, as confirmed by a team spokesperson, and further detailed by an athletic department release.
[lawrence-related id=25781,25796]
While some remained in Ann Arbor during the coronavirus pandemic, many had returned to their original locale once spring ball was canceled. Zach Charbonnet has been back in Greater Los Angeles, Hassan Haskins in Missouri. Kicker Quinn Nordin has been training in Florida while Giles Jackson was getting his reps in the Bay Area and Dylan McCaffrey trained with his brothers in Colorado. Joe Milton spent time in Florida as well as Michigan, with some highlights coming of him and Ronnie Bell working out with former Wolverines QB Devin Gardner and his group, Young Go Getters.
However, that’s all changed, with the Wolverines joining back together in anticipation of the 2020 season. While gyms have not been formally opened, thus what the maize and blue do to get back into the swing of things is unclear, the first hurdle has been cleared with the team gathering once again.
With the coronavirus pandemic slowing — at least in the state of Michigan — the team has an added benefit of having what is believed to be the largest workout facility by square footage in the country, allowing for continued social distancing. As of this writing, teams in the state are allowed to workout, but outdoors, per the governor’s loosening of the executive order. There currently is no timeline as to when the team can start lifting inside in earnest, but at least the summer conditioning period can officially begin.
The Wolverines returning to the campus, and later the practice field, marks the beginning of the 2020 season in Ann Arbor, though it’s still mired in uncertainty. At the moment, it’s believed that it will take place as scheduled, albeit with a limited capacity at college football stadiums around the country — Michigan Stadium included.
Unfortunately, the maize and blue’s reporting to campus comes a week behind their rival, as Ohio State started welcoming its players back to Columbus on June 8.
READ Michigan athletics’ release:
The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced that football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball student-athletes will be welcomed back to campus starting the week of June 15 should they choose to participate in voluntary strength and conditioning workouts. At this time, those are the only three sports allowed by the NCAA to participate in voluntary summer workouts.
Student-athletes will return to campus in four phases, with each group of student-athletes progressing through a detailed process to ensure the well-being, safety and ongoing health of student-athletes and staff.
“We are pleased to start the process of welcoming student-athletes back to our campus through a medical and public health-informed protocol and plan,” said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics. “We continue to take the utmost care to ensure that all student-athletes and staff return to a safe and healthy environment.
“Our protocols and plans have been developed by medical experts from across U-M’s campus, who have collaborated with officials at the local, state and national levels. I appreciate the contributions and comprehensive efforts across so many groups and in coordination with the Big Ten Conference and peers across the NCAA.”
The detailed process for reopening the athletic campus for student-athletes includes a 14-day pre-report risk assessment, a six-day resocialization period to campus, and daily risk assessments, including temperature checks.
Included in the resocialization period are comprehensive health and welfare assessments consisting of COVID-19 and antibody testing, team physicals, concussion baseline testing and assessment, sleep surveys, sport-appropriate fitness testing, mobility screening, body composition, nutrition evaluations and regular medical testing.
Student-athletes and staff will have daily screening before admittance to facilities. They will also be provided items and guidelines necessary to participate in team functions (social distancing, wearing masks, hand hygiene, etc.). All facilities on the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus will go through rigorous cleaning and sanitization, with high-risk areas, including locker rooms, strength and conditioning spaces and athletic training rooms, cleaned daily via electrostatic sanitation. Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will enter a defined quarantine protocol per medical guidelines.
[vertical-gallery id=24009]