The Big Ten has officially given its schools the green light to begin preseason football camp this week, and because Ohio State's season opener is now scheduled for Sept. 3 at Illinois, the Buckeyes will be starting camp on Thursday, one day earlier than originally planned.

While the Big Ten had considered delaying the start of fall camp due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the conference is confident that it has the proper medical policies and protocols in place to proceed forward with preseason practices.

“I have a son who’s a football student-athlete in the SEC, at Mississippi State, and so I’ve asked myself as a father: Would I be comfortable for him to participate in the Big Ten based upon the testing policies, protocols and procedures we have in place? And as of today, the answer is yes,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said Wednesday in an interview with BTN.

As a result, Ohio State will be back on the practice field tomorrow and practicing at full speed for the first time in five months.

Ohio State football players have been back on campus since June, when voluntary workouts resumed at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and participating in workouts ever since with the exception of a one-week pause in July. For the past two weeks, the Buckeyes have been able to participate in up to 20 hours per week of team activities including six hours per week of walkthrough practices, but they haven't been able to practice with contact since their lone week of spring practice in the first week of March.

That will change on Friday, when Ohio State will finally be able to ramp up its preparation for the 2020 football season at long last.