YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Although the challenges of COVID-19 are far from over, the 2020 Eastern Michigan University football campaign officially opened today, Aug. 5, when the Eagles held their first practice of the season. The team, adhering closely to a variety of new safety rules and standards, ran through drills and team exercise inside 'The Factory," at Rynearson Stadium.
All activities were performed in accordance with Governor Gretchen Whitmer's most recent outdoor activity policies, and were in-line with numerous health and safety protocols put together by University officials and outside medical council.
Head Coach Chris Creighton, in his seventh year at the helm, guided the team through the workout as they prepare for the 2020 season. Although last week's announcement by the Southeastern Conference did eliminate EMU's season-opening bout with Kentucky, the team is still, as of now, prepared to see game action against Coastal Carolina, Sept. 12, in Ypsilanti.
"It feels great to be out here," Creighton said. "With the walk throughs, we've been able to be with the guys now for a couple of weeks and are super proud of how they're handling all of this uncertainty. We just love being together. We have been doing it as safely as we can and feel pretty good about how we've been doing it. But so today, the first official day camp, we're holding everything loosely and we're taking it day-by-day. So, we didn't really treat it like the first day of camp."
This practice was the first of the three-day acclimation period where the players can only wear helmets, before sporting shoulder pads on the fourth day, and finally full pads on the fifth day. One of the many safety precautions that has been implemented is the addition of full-face splash shields to each player's helmet. These plastic protectors allow the student-athlete to properly breathe while reducing the chance of salvia particles being transferred between players. Various other precautions, such as increased small-group activities and spread out workouts, are also being implemented.
"We're grateful for the time that we have together," continued Creighton. " We really are trying to do it right. I've never coached the mask on before and these guys haven't played with masks and face shields and all that. We've tempered things down to split practices and all of that, but I think that we're handling it as well as possible"
Despite the uncertainty of the upcoming season, Creighton was heard constantly reminding his players that it is important to focus on the task at hand, offering that each player has a responsibility to control what they can control, and make themselves better every day.
"I think all of us just love being together," added Creighton. "We love the game of football and we know that it's a crazy time and that football is not the most important thing going on in our country and the world right now. We made a pretty good decision of splitting the practices. It's obviously helping with social distancing. We're basically just doing sort of back-to-back practices and they are a lot shorter. But everyone is getting an incredible amount of reps and everyone is getting coached. I've never really done that before this long. As long as we can stay healthy and stay safe, we have the numbers to be able to do it and it's really been beneficial."
For more information on Eastern Michigan football, follow the team's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/EMUFB, by Facebook at Facebook.com/EasternMichiganFootball, or on Instagram at Instagram.com/EMUFB.
** Due to health and safety concerns, training and practice activities are limited to essential personnel only. EMU continues to follow the standards established by the University's Public Health Work Group, the state of Michigan, the NCAA, and the Mid-American Conference.
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Ready for a Breakthrough: Football Completes First Fall Practice - EMU Eagles
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