Notre Dame football’s plan for returning to campus revealed last week laid out the short-term strategies for housing, practices and player safety over the summer.
Brian Kelly outlined some longer-term aspects Monday night.
Kelly went on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt and said Notre Dame players and staff will be tested for COVID-19 once per week during the 2020 season, which begins Labor Day weekend at Navy.
“We will put a team on the field that has been tested and cleared,” Kelly said. “Navy is going to put a team on the field that is cleared and tested. We’re going to be in close proximity, but they will have been tested.”
The mindset among colleges and athletic programs with reopening campuses and playing fall sports has focused on how to handle positive tests rather than how to prevent them. Notre Dame officials made that clear as well last week. Most universities that have brought athletes back to campus and tested them have announced positive test results, with Auburn, Iowa and Alabama some of the latest.
Notre Dame can have some control of its players' off-field activities this summer by housing them in an on-campus hotel and bringing meals to the hotel, but there will not be restrictions that confine players to the hotel for the entire summer. They will move into on-campus residences or off-campus apartments when the fall semester starts Aug. 10.
It will not be a normal semester, but typical college life won’t evaporate either. Off-campus establishments will be open by the fall if Indiana’s reopening plan goes as forecasted.
“The challenges will be college students during the week making good decisions there,” Kelly said. “It’s on Thursday and Friday when you test and your starting quarterback has COVID-19 and the backup got six reps, but we have to get on the bus and go play Clemson. Those are the challenges we have as we move forward.”
Kelly previously said on SportsCenter in March that Notre Dame needed to be back on campus by July 1 to start the season on time. Two-plus months later, he is confident Notre Dame will play its full schedule.
Notre Dame’s voluntary workouts start June 22. According to multiple reports, the NCAA Football Oversight Committee has drafted a six-week plan for training camp that will allow coaches to begin interacting with players in early-to-mid July. The Division I Council will vote on it June 17 and is expected to pass it without issue.
“I was hoping that July date would have us up and running and give us a shot at something in September,” Kelly said. “But right now we’re right on track. … With the NCAA now involved in putting together a back-to-play schedule, we feel like we’re in good position to begin the first week of September.”
The NCAA’s plan would allow walk-through practices with a ball to begin in mid-July, according to Sports Illustrated’s Monday report. Coaches are normally allowed unlimited time with their team in training camp until classes start and 20 hours per week in season after classes start. Notre Dame moved up the start of the fall semester by two weeks, meaning the 20-hour rule starts earlier.
“This is going to be making sure the playbook is very small and the execution is very good,” Kelly said.
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