This is going to sound like I’m a shill for the SEC, but here goes. The conference and its leaders deserve a tip of the cap for how they've digested all the information regarding COVID-19, and applied that info into a plan to allow student-athletes back on campus for voluntary workouts starting tomorrow.

The phases have been measured, experts were consulted, and steps were slowly taken with the 14-member schools to get to the point we are today: players back on campus for the first time since the middle of March—if they want to be, that is.

Okay, don’t laugh.

I'm like you; the term “voluntary workouts” amuses me. Even if that’s technically true, if you’re a competitor and expect to make an impression on the coaching staff, are you really going to stay home? Of course not.

Especially now. Based on what Kirby Smart told reporters during a Zoom meeting last week, players can’t wait to get started. With physicals and COVID-19 tests complete, they can.

You’ve probably read or heard about the changes. Social distancing in the weight room, one way in, one way out, no handshakes/hugs/fist bumps, and no drinking from the same container are just some of changes players and coaches can expect over the next few weeks.

Overkill? Maybe. But we’re not here to debate that.

The bottom line: Athletes weren’t going to be allowed back on campus without these adjustments. And considering the tests are now complete, that’s water over the proverbial dam.

It’s time to get to work.

For college football fans everywhere, that’s music to their ears.

Starting Monday, under the watchful eye of strength coach Scott Sinclair and his staff, players will start the first of what will be approximately a month’s worth of conditioning and light drills. After that, they will begin a six-week camp, as opposed to the typical four-week camp we've seen in years past, before the season opener on September 7 against Virginia.

For now, however, all the focus for Georgia (and the rest of the teams in the SEC) will be navigating through this next month, staying safe, and getting prepared physically for the season everyone hopes will start on time.

Although nobody can say with 100 percent certainty that the season will begin on time, that’s certainly the expectation of UGA president Jere Morehead and Georgia governor Brian Kemp, both of whom expressed that confidence over the past two weeks.

Barring a large uptick or second surge of Covid cases, the opinion here is the football season will start as scheduled.

Goodness knows, I hope so. Most everyone reading this column is a Georgia Bulldog fan, and sports are a huge part of our lives.

While the past three months have been manageable from a news standpoint (there’s still been plenty to write and talk about with you good folks), the uncertainty has been draining. You’ve probably heard me speak about being a detached, unbiased professional when it comes to doing my job. That’s true.

At the same time, it hurt me to see the pain endured by the athletes who saw their seasons come to such an abrupt end.

My heart really went out to members of Georgia’s baseball team, who I truly believe had the pieces to get back to Omaha for the first time in 12 years.

Of course, the thought of a fall without football was enough to cause more than a few ulcers.

So many people—not just other collegiate athletes—depend on football just to make it. Even in my business, we’ve seen sports media take a huge hit with furloughs and cutbacks such as we saw at The Athletic the other day, when 46 people lost their jobs.

That’s why even the start of voluntary workouts is a big deal.

At least it’s a sign that this upside-down world is finally starting to get back some sense of normalcy.