AUBURN | Three of Auburn’s football players tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. They’ll be quarantined for a couple of weeks but they’re currently asymptomatic and it’s unlikely they’ll suffer any serious complications.

The same can be said for most, if not all, of Auburn’s student athletes. But there are other pressing concerns for Gus Malzahn and his staff when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, namely, themselves.

“You've got to understand -- I probably worry just as much about my coaches and older guys, support staff,” Malzahn said. “We're just going to be responsible. And I think the motivating factor is that we all want to play football. I promise you our players are probably at the forefront of that.”

The majority, 60 percent, of the U.S.’s current 112,000 COVID-19 deaths have come from people 65 and over, but there are risks for all age groups. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, 62, and offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr., 57, are in an age range, 55-64, that’s accounted for 12 percent of deaths.

Malzahn, 54, secondary coach Wesley McGriff, offensive coordinator Chad Morris, defensive line coach Rodney Garner, tight ends coach Larry Porter and outside linebackers coach Al Pogue are all within the 45-54 age group, which accounts for 4.8 percent of the deaths.

Because an asymptomatic player could pass along the virus to an older coach, staff member or athletic employee, Malzahn and the athletic department leadership under athletic director Allen Greene have established protocols to protect more vulnerable employees.

“So, with coming back, there's going to be a responsibility. And that responsibility is going to be making sure that you stay safe and you do the things you're supposed to do -- social distancing, the mask,” Malzahn said. “We're going to give every player a mask. The good thing is our coaches have been back for two and a half or three weeks, and we've all been operating.”

Malzahn will also be cautious as the players return to workouts Monday under strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell after a three month layoff. He’s expecting his returning players to be in a wide range of physical condition depending on their access to gym equipment and how consistently they worked on their conditioning while at home.

He compared the situation to 25 or 30 years ago when players actually took summers off to work or vacation instead of remaining in school to train.

“So we’re going to be very slow,” Malzahn said. “Coach Russell is well-prepared to start building that foundation, not assuming anything. We’ve got extra ways to make sure our guys are hydrated more than they normally would. So we’re going to make sure we’ll gradually bring the whole team along.”

Auburn is scheduled to open the season Sept. 5 against Alcorn State.