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Ryan Day urging Ohio State players to keep safe distance from friends, family who attend games
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Because of the way the B1G schedule worked out this season, there is absolutely no margin for error. The league is attempting to squeeze nine games into a nine-week window and hoping it can run through a season without any hiccups along the way.
That means players and coaches everywhere have to take extra precautions to stay safe from contracting COVID-19. And Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is telling his players and staff members to do the difficult thing this season and keep a safe distance from friends and family who attend games.
Ohio State announced earlier this week that 1,600 individuals will be permitted inside Ohio Stadium this fall.
Only friends and family of players will be permitted to attend B1G games this season, a decision the league came to when it announced a return to fall football plan on Sept. 16. Still, Day knows that all it takes is one individual to test positive for the virus for a problem to arise.
He wants his players to be smart when friends and family are in attendance.
“I know it’s very difficult, but it’s just more exposure,” Day said on 97.1 The Fan during his radio show on Thursday. “If one person has it, then all of the sudden we’re creating a problem.”
And with such harsh ramifications in place from the B1G, a player who tests positive would miss a minimum of 21 days, while a team with a certain percentage of positive results would miss 7 days.
With no off weeks built into the schedule, that simply cannot happen.
As difficult as it is, the B1G players and coaches have to be extra careful to get through an entire nine-game schedule this fall. Day wants to ensure his players and staff are being smart.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB