Ohio State is officially moving into the next phase of summer workouts on Friday, and we now have more details on what those workouts will look like.
In accordance with guidelines approved by the NCAA last month, Ohio State will begin the second phase of summer workouts on Friday, in which the Buckeyes are allowed to conduct up to 20 hours of organized team activities including football walkthroughs, team meetings and strength and conditioning workouts.
Those team activities will be limited to up to six hours per week of walkthroughs, six hours of team meetings and eight hours of weight training and conditioning. The Buckeyes will not be allowed to wear pads or conduct any contact or speed drills during walkthroughs, but will be allowed to practice with footballs for the first time since their lone week of spring practices during the first week of March. Team activities will be limited to four hours per day, and Ohio State is required to give its athletes two days off during the 14-day period, after which the Buckeyes will start full football practices – provided it is deemed safe for them to do so – on Aug. 7.
Ohio State football coaches have been able to supervise workouts since Ohio State athletes returned to workouts last Wednesday. In that phase, however, the Buckeyes were limited to just eight total hours per week of team activities and only two hours of film review, while they were not allowed to conduct any workouts using footballs.
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According to a news release by the university on Thursday afternoon, “Ohio State football players are being routinely tested for COVID-19 and training/workout decisions will continue to be re-evaluated by medical staff to protect the health and safety of students.”
“A strict set of protocols remain in place requiring daily symptoms assessments, physical distancing, masks, hygiene, limited density in indoor spaces and cleaning procedures,” Ohio State's release states.
Players will be asked to dress and undress at their own apartments and bring their used workout gear back to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center the following day for cleaning by the equipment staff. After completing team activities, players will be provided clean workout clothes for the following day and food to go. Workouts will be conducted in the weight room, indoor fields and “as much as possible” on the outdoor fields at the WHAC, while the locker room, showers and players’ lounge will remain off-limits to players.
Ohio State says it still has no plans to release the results of its COVID-19 testing, citing the “individual medical privacy of the student-athletes,” but says “the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes is our highest priority” and that “health and safety protocols are designed to be as responsible as possible based on guidelines established by the Ohio State COVID-19 Transition Task Force and its Safe Campus and Scientific Advisory Subgroup, and also the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health.”
