Eagles kick off preseason football practice

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - The Georgia Southern football team got back to work early Friday morning in Statesboro. Gearing up for the 2020 season.

Nearly five months since their last full team workout, the Eagles took the field at Paulson Stadium to kick off preseason practice.

There was plenty of excitement in the air, but also lingering questions as practice begins in the COVID-19 world.

Head coach Chad Lunsford says no players or coaches have opted out of the season. He says during practice he, the strength staff, and operations staff have been tasked with keeping players distanced when possible.

It's a new world for every football team and Lunsford feels the program has done a good job informing players and putting in protocols to keep them safe. But he adds the team must be willing to adapt and self-evaluate as practice goes on.

“This is going to be a learned discipline. We can’t expect to be perfect right away,” Lunsford says. “In our staff meeting today, we’ll go through and we’ll talk about each period of practice. We’ll go, ‘Ok, what did we do that was not good for social distancing? What can we do that can be better? So, we’re trying to learn every day and trying to do better every day.”

With day one of practice in the books, there are still questions as to when game one will be for this program after the Eagles’ original season opener at Boise State was canceled. For now, the Eagles will open the season at Paulson Stadium on Sept. 12 against Campbell.