USU football cautiously approaching return to play
The Utah State football team has returned to Cache Valley for in-person voluntary workouts at on-campus facilities. As of June 15, Aggie players, after testing negative for COVID-19, are permitted to work out with their teammates in the Aggie weight room and other facilities.
“Guys are just excited to get back and get to work,” said senior Wide Receiver and Logan native, Taylor Compton. “It’s good to have people back together.”
Senior linebacker Kevin Meitzenheimer who had 89 tackles last season, third-best on the team, is excited to get back to work.
“It’s always nice to be around your teammates again,” he said. “But it’s just tough because we gotta make sure we’re being smart and make sure we’re following all the protocols.”
The protocols Meitzenheimer mentioned are in place to protect the athletes and mitigate the spread and the effects of COVID-19, as highlighted in a press release by USU Athletics.
The guidelines include getting tested for COVID-19, daily temperature checks, social distancing in workouts, and restricted areas such as the locker room.
Several players had to make additional adjustments to be ready for the on-campus workouts, including self-isolation before coming back to the facilities.
“A lot of the guys that came from out of state had to be here on June 1 to be cleared to go June 15, so they had a 14-day isolation/quarantine,” Compton said.
With no reported positive tests and the majority of players back in Logan, the team has started to begin workouts, slowly phasing into a normal routine. Their daily schedule is pretty straightforward according to Meitzenheimer.
“When we come in we have to get our temperature checked, we read ourselves off the list of symptoms and make sure that we don’t have any of those symptoms,” he said. “They check our temperature and then we get a wristband. Once you get that wristband we’re good for the whole day.”
The main objective of the workouts is to focus on becoming faster and stronger, and they are trying to accomplish that while social distancing.
“A lot of the groups that we lift in and run in their smaller groups, their kind of separate so we can social distance as best we can while still working out.,” Meitzenheimer said. “ So if we work out we’ll probably be like every other rack and it’s probably like two guys to a rack.”
Impact
Being able to return to Logan and work as a team — regardless of the restrictions — should prove to have a positive impact on the Aggies’ performance in the coming months.
One positive that Compton thinks will come out of these voluntary workouts will be the chance to build relationships and strengthen chemistry among the team.
“Moments like these where we’re able to come back and be together are moments where you develop those bonds and develop those trusts — in games when things are on the line it’s easy to trust a guy or go down with a guy or win with a guy that you’ve been working out with side by side for the summer you know the work they put in,” he said.
Additionally, the summer workouts are the next step on a quest to return to game shape.
“You don’t want to come back after doing nothing for a few months and just go right into it with full pads and hitting and stuff. Obviously there are tiers you have to go through which are taking place,” Compton said.
“We’re all going to continue to work hard and make sure we’re the best possible team as soon as we play our first game,” Meitzenheimer said. “We want to make sure we are 100% prepared.”
Meitzenheimer believes that there will be no competitive advantage in favor of the Aggies because the modified offseason will affect every school in the nation just the same.
Concerns
Despite record highs of Covid-19 cases in Cache County and the state of Utah in recent weeks, it seems like those around the football team are cautiously optimistic that the season will happen.
In an interview with Hans Olsen and Scott Garrard on 1280 The Zone last month, Utah State Athletic Director John Hartwell said, “Expect the unexpected these days. We’re plowing through and trying to make sure we have the positivity mojo going and are playing when the fall gets here and ya know obviously some optimism right now as we got not only football students back on campus…Hopefully, we are trending towards the new normal whatever that ends up looking like.”
Meitzenheimer expects the season to happen, but is mindful of the guidelines set in place and how that affects the start to the season.
“Right now it’s looking like it’ll go as normal but along with like the same protocols we’re following right now, probably just amplify it up when things get back rolling. It’s just about being safe and smart about what we’re doing and so right now,” he said. “It looks like everything should be on track, but things could happen.”
Compton acknowledged the increased risks associated with the pandemic but just wants to play.
“Playing football you understand the risks of what you’re doing and you’re willing to take those. And so I’m not too worried, just excited, and hope we get the chance.”
For these seniors, this is their chance to make their final mark on this team and this university, and naturally, the last thing they want is for the season to not happen.
“I want to win, I want to continue our winning culture here at Utah State. I want to be a senior class that goes out as a winner, Compton said. “Those are the most important things for me frankly and hopefully, we can be able to have a season to see if we can be able to go do that.”
@jacobnielson12
— jacobnielson12@yahoo.com