Like many Americans, Gus Malzahn is hunkered down at home with his family and hoping for the safety and well-being of those close to him.

Unlike most Americans, Malzahn is charged with the safety of around 100 young men as the leader of the Auburn football program. While his job depends on winning and losing on the field, at times like these, Malzahn’s focus isn’t on the field despite many football fans eager to know what’s next for the sport — it’s on the health of his players.

During a recent teleconference, Malzahn was peppered with questions regarding the status of his Auburn football program. While many of the questions asked of Malzahn were about Auburn’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Auburn coach was asked a few questions about the team’s postponed spring camp.

While the SEC has canceled all spring games, the league has yet to rule out spring practices in the coming weeks after reaccessing things following the April 15 deadline set by the league.

That’s at least given Malzahn hope that the Tigers can have some form of spring practice this year.

“I think everybody around the country would say they’re definitely hoping that there will be some type of things like that, but we’ll be prepared in any way, no matter what happens,” Malzahn said. “I think you have to be prepared for everything at this point. We’re definitely hopeful, so we’ll see what happens.”

When asked if there would be a deadline for when a decision would be made, Malzahn pointed toward the only date the SEC has issued at this time.

“I think that’s a tough question to answer right now because as of right now, the April 15 (date set by the SEC to cancel all sports activities), but we’ll see,” Malzahn offered up. “We have to be prepared to adjust as we go. I know Commissioner Sankey will keep us updated.”

If the SEC is forced to cancel all of spring practice, Malzahn was asked if he would be open to holding a mini-camp of sorts in the summer.

“Yeah, I don’t know the answer to that right now,” the Auburn coach replied. “I think once we get through this initial phase where things don’t keep changing every day and we get back to some normalcy, I think we’ll have the ability to have all those discussions. I think everything’s on the table right now but it’s hard to answer that at this moment.”

It’s unfortunate to say but it appears Malzahn has as few answers as many of us do when it comes to the potential future of SEC football.