After a five-month hiatus, the Florida football team practiced Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown in mid-March.

The Gators were just in helmets and shorts, but football is back and the 2020 season is one step closer to a reality for third-year coach Dan Mullen.

“Good to be back out there on the field,” he said Monday. “Little bit slower start than we would have expected or hoped. But everybody keeps throwing these curveballs out there for us.

“I think our guys have done an amazing job just adjusting to all the different schedule scenarios and all the different things that are happening.”

UF was initially scheduled to begin fall camp on Aug. 7, but the SEC pushed back the start date last week. The league also shortened the number of allowable practices from 29 to 25 and limited programs to five days of activities per week instead of six, which didn’t sit well with Mullen.

“I don’t understand why it was altered. Somehow they wanted to alter training camp and decrease the hours,” he said. “We went from 20 hours with walk-through, lift, meeting, to decreased activity back to increased activity. You would rather kind of a steady growth.”

“So it’s our adjustment to that in step one. Then it’s the adjustments to students back on campus and classes starting, step two. And then, it’s us making sure we are managing and adjusting to in-season, which will greatly increase testing, up to three times a week.”

Another adjustment will be the team not staying in a hotel for training camp. Mullen said they typically use one for a week or two for team-building purposes, but decided against it this year because of COVID-19.

“When we were kind of moving around a whole bunch outside of our normal daily environment, that's when our numbers went up,” Mullen said. “When we went back to a very structured daily routine, our numbers went down. So, going off of that information, I'm going to keep us doing what we've been doing.”

Mullen praised Florida’s medical staff for the supervision they've provided during workouts.

He said the players are constantly given guidance and education about following the proper COVID-19 protocols. UF currently has no athletes in quarantine, and Mullen suggested they’re safer in a team environment.

“The setup in what we do is constantly set up to keep people in a safe environment, with number of people that can be in a locker room at a time and how spread out we are in the locker room and how we eat and how we meet in meetings,” he said. “So our environment, I think, really sets that up, and then obviously our players and the responsibility they have taken to do things the right way.”

They must be even more responsible once the student body returns to campus later this month for the start of fall classes. That will undoubtedly increase the risk of COVID-19 in and around Gainesville, and the staff has already advised the players to avoid mass gatherings and parties.

“We talk to our guys about safety,” Mullen said. “I guess it’d be kind of crazy if a guy said, ‘Boy I have concerns about playing football’ when we try to create this unbelievably safe bubble, like this environment when they get here with all of these different safety restrictions, protocols.

“Wouldn’t it make sense for somebody that’s concerned about all that and then they go to kind of a giant party with 500 people indoors at a club without wearing a mask. Those two wouldn’t add up if you have safety concerns. Now if you have no safety concerns, then we gotta educate them because you’re also putting other people potentially at risk and you’re putting all the work that we’ve put in at risk.”

A pair of Power 5 leagues postponed fall sports last week, with the Big Ten and Pac-12 now eyeing a spring football season.

Mullen was asked what gives him confidence that the SEC can make it work this fall.

“I think the fact that when we were kind of away and having voluntary-only workouts and our guys were kind of off and about, we had quite a few positive tests. Then we got back together and started having the mandatory workouts with full team activities, those numbers greatly decreased,” Mullen explained. “Statistically speaking off of those numbers, you would think the safe place to be is practicing football and doing organized team activities, because that’s where our numbers greatly decreased. That’s the information we have now. That’s why I feel comfortable.”

* Mullen had no updates on the eligibility waivers for wide receiver transfers Jordan Pouncey and Justin Shorter. “Not yet,” he said. “Hopefully we get something back here soon from the NCAA, but like I always say with those, that's out of our hands with that timetable.”

* Mullen on his first impression of the freshmen group: “Great kids. They’re really good personalities. The time I’ve got to spend around them, real high character, good quality guys. Have positive attitudes. I think they’ve done an amazing job.”

* Freshman wide receiver Ja’Quavion Fraziars will be the first player in school history to wear the No. 0 jersey.