Injured Miami football players to return to campus next week

In a Zoom chat with Miami football beat writers on Friday Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz stated that players who are rehabbing from injuries will return to receive treatment next week.

Miami football players will slowly be allowed back on campus according to Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz during a Zoom chat with beat reporters on Friday. Players rehabbing from injuries will be the first allowed back into the building. That includes multi-year starters tight end Brevin Jordan and guard Navaughn Donaldson.

In addition to Jordan and Donaldson, the Miami linebacker corps was depleted with injuries during the abbreviated spring. The return of the injured players to the Miami football facilities on Monday is in line with Florida slowing returning back to normal. The football players will be the first to return to campus.

Other players expected to return from injuries on Monday according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald are running back Don Chaney Jr. and linebackers Sam Brooks Jr. and Waynmon Steed. Chaney is an incoming freshman, Brooks shined with 12 tackles in the Independence Bowl and Steed has battled injuries for two years.

Diaz also discussed the outlook on when training camp and the season could start. It is going to be a difficult decision for the ACC to navigate. Each state is reopening at its own pace and with different guidelines. The ACC will have to work within the guidelines of each city and state to determine how to move forward.

"“We are going to have access for our guys that are coming off of surgery to be able to enter the building to get treatment, and we’ll start ramping up that procedure next week…so they will get the face to face, and that’ll be a little dry run, a test measure, of the different protocol of coming into the building and that type of deal.Who decides who gets back on campus, again, is a government decision and that’s not something that leagues decide.It’s a decision of what’s going on in your city versus what’s going on in your city, what’s in your state versus your state, so I think we all have to follow our elected leadership and when they give us the green light on what we’re able to do, then we go from there.”"

Professional sports in Florida are solely returning. The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic have started practice. Diaz elaborated that he would like his team to have six weeks of training camp before they play Temple in the season opener September 5. Diaz discussed training camp and the outlook for the season to be played.

"“The next six weeks will be more important than the last six weeks because obviously now people will have a chance to come in more contact with one another than we were when we were all sheltering in place.Our players have to understand that even if the data says that their age group is not at risk of serious illness, which, again at this point, we’re still learning exactly what that data point is, at the minimum you’re talking about a two-week quarantine.”Are we coming out of shelter in place? Are we coming out of some eight-week phase where things are less restrictive? It’s so hard to say. Whatever it is, we’re going to make it work, and I think as long as everybody’s somewhat on the same page of what we get practice-wise, I think we’ll feel that the spirit of competition will be intact for the football season.I do think there will be college football. I think that’s been pretty consistent, the optimism from our leaders on campus and the conference, throughout the country. There’s no school who has a university president who is an expert in public health like we do with President Frenk.So I feel as confident in terms of our ability to bring not just our student athletes, but our student body back on practice this fall in a safe manner.”"

What is going to happen 10 weeks from now with training camp and nearly three months from now with the start of the season is speculation at this point. The national shutdown has been for just over two months. To project was is going to happen three months out is difficult. Diaz has usually echoed that.

He also stated during the Zoom meeting that he and his staff are ready for whatever happens. If they have to get ready for the season on a shortened schedule they are prepared to do so. In uncertain times Diaz and the Miami football program will be ready for whatever the scenario is.