Allen Greene has been involved in countless meetings over the past few weeks with fellow athletic directors and SEC officials alike, and he has yet to see a COVID-19 plan for athletes that impresses him as much as Auburn's.

"It’s not foolproof. This virus, it’s different," Greene said Tuesday on a Zoom meeting with local reporters. "But the plan that we have in place is one of the best plans I’ve seen.”

This week, months of work and planning — and contingency planning — from coaches, athletic directors, doctors and conference leaders come to a head when football players begin their return to campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I’m very excited, and I know our staff is excited to have our players back," Gus Malzahn said on Zoom. "This is really big. We’re ready to get things back going.”

The SEC approved players to undergo voluntary workouts with strength and conditioning staff members starting Monday. Malzahn said "most" Auburn players are arriving at staggered times this Thursday, and every player — not just symptomatic ones — will be tested for COVID-19.

Auburn expects results back within 24 hours, and as soon as those are in, the Tigers will begin physicals.

But what happens when a player tests positive?

"They’re going to another dorm," Malzahn said of that scenario. "They’ve got a different protocol."

The virus has been shown to be highly contagious, so if one player has it, there's a high likelihood other players he's been around will, too. Malzahn said Dr. Michael Goodlett, who represents Auburn on the SEC's COVID-19 task force, has an intricate plan in place for contact tracing, which is helped largely by players arriving at staggered times and staying in their assigned groups.

"So, strategically, we’ve got guys coming in at certain times, so we’ll know who was around who," Malzahn said. "They’re going to go to their rooms. Before they get back with their tests, they’re going to be with them and their roommate. We will have smaller groups but we — Dr. Goodlett has done a super job of making sure that if someone tests positive, we will have a record of who’s been around, who’s in contact, and obviously they’ll be tested at the same time."

Following the initial check-ups, players that are able will begin their workouts Monday, led by strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell. Auburn is restricting workout sessions to eight-player pods.

Malzahn will also ramp up educational sessions on COVID-19 prevention and safety measures. All team meetings will remain virtual for the time being, according to the head coach.

"But to be honest with you, we’re starting to get on a routine as far as the Zoom meetings are concerned," Malzahn said.

After the first round of testing, Malzahn said Auburn has the ability to conduct more at any time, but the team is "still undecided" about how frequent testing will be for the remainder of the month. Players will have their temperatures taken and will be checked for other symptoms by team medical staff daily, however.

For a week, starting Monday, the Tigers will be under a strict quarantine. Auburn has to know they're either in their dorms or being carefully watched in small groups at the practice facility. With so much spare time, Malzahn said he has virtual team-building exercises and other activities planned.

After the first week or two, however, nothing is concrete. Malzahn said SEC decision makers are in wait-and-see mode, and will assess teams' success with their individual plans week by week.

So Auburn has to stay on top of all the safety measures, everything coaches and players are being told to do, at every turn, every day, in order to inch toward a possible return to regular football practice.

"That's why we decided to go overboard the first week and isolate and quarantine for seven days," Malzahn said. "I don't know what other teams are doing, but I'd bet very few are doing that."

It's a lot to ask of 100 or so college students. It won't be easy. But when it gets difficult, they can all point to one unifying goal.

"I think the motivating factor is that we all want to play football," Malzahn said. "... Our players are probably at the forefront of that."

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