FULL CONFIDENCE IN OHIO STATE’S PROTOCOL
There was one thing that every parent who spoke to Eleven Warriors over the past four days agreed upon: The Ohio State football program, led by Day, was doing everything it needed to do to keep their sons safe.
Day was unanimously praised by the parents for his consistent communication with them ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Day and team doctors held regular Zoom meetings with the parents to update them on their protocol and team testing results and to answer any questions they had, which made them confident Ohio State truly cared about their sons’ health.
“He sent out an itinerary that was down to the hour, fine-tooth, every detail about the protocols that would happen for camp,” Smith said. “I felt completely comfortable. He had a system down from the time that they woke up to the time that they finished their day.”
Williams added, “I haven’t seen one time that they haven’t crossed their T’s and dotted their I’s. They have always been on point with everything. They have always been up-front with everything.”
Leticia Smith, the mother of junior linebacker K’Vaughan Pope, said “the coaches and players did everything right,” from COVID-19 testing and sanitizing equipment to wearing masks, washing hands frequently and social distancing. Helena Toutant, the mother of freshman offensive tackle Grant Toutant, said she felt everyone in the program – from players and coaches to doctors and athletic trainers – was so bought into trying to make a season happen that they were unwavering in their commitment to following recommended safety protocol.
“Everybody is so on board that everybody wants football and everybody’s willing to do everything that they need to do to make that happen,” Toutant said.
While Cavazos is concerned about the outbreaks that could happen now that non-athlete students have returned to college campuses around the country, he believes his son is safer inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center because of the protocols the athletic department has put in place.
“It’s him going to class that I would worry about. It’s him interacting in different places because of students coming from all over the country to Ohio State,” Cavazos said. “That was what probably would have made me feel uncomfortable. But inside that building, I would have felt 1000% safe that Lejond was safe.”
Babb and Hilliard both cited a spike of positive COVID-19 tests within the Oklahoma football team, which only occurred after players were given a week off are allowed to return home, as evidence that they believed their sons are actually safer being a part of the football team than they would be without it.
“My son at Ohio State, he gets to see a doctor every day if he needs it. If his temperature’s a little high, they take care of him. I don’t have that at home,” said Trey Leroux’s father Tony. “He’s safer (at Ohio State), and there’s never been a time that I would honestly say that out loud ever, that my kid is safer not being at my house, until now.”
