AUBURN | After a week off for final exams, Auburn’s players can turn their focus back to football.

The players, who have been home for nearly two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, will resume remote installs after getting in five before the break.

“I think we talked about getting four to five more in,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “In spring, you gotta understand, you usually go six to seven days of install. And then a lot of times the last half of spring you go back and reinforce day one of install and day two, and you’re just trying to create that foundation. That’s really where our guys are at.”

Malzahn and his staff set up the installs to work similar to spring practice. The coordinators video conference with the players on Monday and Wednesday and then their position coaches follow-up on Thursday to reinforce what they learned the first two days.

“Just like the spring, we had our special teams installs and our offensive and defensive installs. But they went extremely well,” Malzahn said. “A little bit more interactive than if we were there in person, just to make sure that the guys are not only engaged and listen, but a little more involvement to help. I know both our coordinators were really impressed with how the meetings went, the install meetings went.”

The installs certainly don't replace what the team could accomplish on the practice field, but they at least lay the groundwork for when the players return to campus and help break up the monotony of being quarantined.

"These virtual meetings have been different, but at the same time very informative," senior linebacker Chandler Wooten said. "We didn’t get to go through spring so we’ve got newcomers and young freshmen, people who have been here a year that have to re-learn the playbook, freshmen and stuff like that. We’ve been trying to do the installs, learn as we go and trying to make the best of the situation."

In the past month the NCAA has raised the number of hours per week the coaches can discuss football-related activities with their players from two hours to four and then eight.

That time also includes meetings with the training staff and nutritionists. When school’s in session, the players also get time with academic counselors outside of the eight hours.

“To be honest with you, the four hours was really about right, because you got to keep in mind that there was still an academic piece, making sure everything was covered with that,” Malzahn said. “So we used the four. It did give us an opportunity to maybe communicate with us a little bit more, but the four was sufficient with us.”

The SEC recently suspended all on-campus camps and coaching clinics through July 31. All on-campus athletic activities remain suspended through May 31.