Ryan Silverfield sits in his second-floor office at Billy J. Murphy Athletic Complex wishing one of his players could walk through the double doors. 

The first-year head coach hears the building shift or the telltale noises of construction and wanders to see if someone has drifted inside the practice facility. Outside of a few players allowed in to rehab, the Tigers are doing what Silverfield wants by putting their physical and mental health first – even if he does miss them. 

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“I feel like I’m without 95 of my kids right now,” Silverfield said in a Zoom press conference Thursday afternoon. “They’re my sons, and I miss them. I’m an empty-nester, and I get lonely. I start hearing noises, and I want to run down and see if there’s somebody down there to hug. But at the end of the day, it’s part of it and we’ll get through all this.” 

Silverfield confirmed no Tiger football players contracted the coronavirus while sheltered in place – whether that be in Memphis or their respective hometowns. Families of players have felt the impact of the virus but Silverfield didn’t offer any additional details. 

“As of right now, considering the 162 people in our football program, we have not had a single person we know of that has personally had the effects of coronavirus,” Silverfield said. “Some family members have been affected and are spread throughout the country. But members of our program specifically, our football players, they themselves are healthy and well.” 

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The virus affected the health of Tiger families, but also the job status of some parents. Eighty-five football players are still receiving scholarship checks, although that doesn’t always cover food expenses. 

Part of the coaching staff’s responsibilities now include checking on players to see if they have enough to eat. If not, Silverfield and company will find a way to help that falls within NCAA rules.

“Some of our players have had parents that have lost jobs and so sometimes the meals aren’t as easy to come by,” Silverfield said. “If we do have a student-athlete struggling for food, we’ll make sure we’re doing it the right way, obviously, due to NCAA rules that we are making sure they’re fed somehow.” 

Silverfield created contingency plans if the Tigers can return to their regular activities in two weeks or 20 months. As the chairman of the coaches committee for the American Athletic Conference, he’s involved in discussions on how to safely start the football season. 

The former offensive line coach submitted his own ideas and remains creative in his approach to the season. But like many others, there’s much that’s out of his control.

“Like a lot of people, there’s so much that’s out of our hands,” Silverfield said. “Let the experts decide. The people who are much smarter than I – the health officials – let them tell us when it’s safe for us to come back. Whenever that is, we’ll be grateful.”

The problems Silverfield faces day-to-day are small compared to individuals fighting the coronavirus. It’d be nice if the path ahead was clear and players were able to swarm the football facility to prepare for a season with certainty. 

Until then, Silverfield will settle for members of his program staying healthy and out of harm’s way. 

“My frustration, my stress is slim compared to real-world problems,” Silverfield said. “We’re talking about, is football important? Sure. As in my livelihood? Sure. It’s so small in comparison to what so many people throughout the world are dealing with. And so I have to look back and say, ‘Man, I’m fortunate, I have my health. Our players have their health, for the most part, their families are healthy. Our staff is okay.'”