There’s been considerable speculation about what the “new normal” for Georgia players will entail, once the Bulldogs begin voluntary workouts June 8 as allowed by the SEC.

Thursday, in a Zoom call with reporters, head coach Kirby Smart offered some details.

“We're going to bring them back prior to June 8, so that they can get a medical workup. They've gotta have an extensive physical. They've got to have COVID tests,” Smart said. “They've got to have a lot of things done prior to June 8.”

Although he didn’t offer specifics, Smart said players will return to campus beginning the first of June.

“We'll have workout groups that are spaced out per the protocol that Ron (team trainer Ron Courson) and the committee came up with. They'll come in and do a really light workout initially because we want to bring them back slowly,” Smart said. ““They'll work out in smaller groups than traditionally before.”

There’s more.

“There will be 20 or so guys to a group, and of the 20 that come in, it'll be sub-divided into groups of seven. So, you're looking at a seven-person rotation in a 12,000 square foot weight room and they'll be spaced out,” Smart said. “There's a lot of protocol that goes into it, and I don't have the time to go into detail. Every session they have, there will be a cleaning crew that comes in and cleans where we are, from the indoor to the weight room. There will only be one door in, one door out, won't be using the locker room.”

Smart said there’s still much that he, his coaches, as well as his players, will have to learn moving forward.

"There's a lot of different things that people don't understand have to go into this, and I think our players even are getting educated, that it's not going to be the normal, 'well, I'll walk in and I go to my locker, and I get my stuff, and I work out, and I shower,’” he said. “It's going to be completely different and a lot of that is controlled by our state, because we're adhering to the policies of our state in terms of workout protocol, showers, and locker room usage."

Smart was asked what would happen if a player, coach, or staff member does happen to test positive for COVID-19.

“Each guy will have the option of whether they go back home if they test positive—they can do that. We have a quarantine policy that we are able to put guys into should they test positive,” Smart said. “We also have the ability, if it happens during a workout period, that we will have contact tracing, where guys that have worked out together—those groups will stay the same and we will be aware of those guys.”

Smart assured every precaution that could be has been put into place.

“Ron and his staff have a lots things in place. We are not looking really far out of what is going to happen in the season and what is going to happen in preseason camp. We are looking at June and the immediate issues there,” he said. “We have some guys that are getting screened as part of the protocol, before they ever come back. Every kid is going to have a talk and a conversation with our medical staff based on where they are coming from, how they feel, have been sick recently, and then, as well as the COVID-19 test when they return.”

Smart was also asked where players will stay once, when they do get back to campus.

“A lot of that is still determined in regard to we’re working through that process with the university housing department and different people,” he said. “But we have a lot of people, over 50 percent of our team, who live off campus,” he said. “Meaning they live in their apartments or their designated lease area. That will remain the same. As far as the rest of it, we’re still working through it.”