“We’ll see how quickly things heal,” McCaw said.

Freeze’s absence was noticeable during Wednesday’s open portion of practice.

The fiery coach was not in his accustomed position of bouncing around the position groups and working with the respective players and coaches on their crafts.

Instead, members of the coaching staff picked up the slack, particularly with their energy.

Defensive coordinator Scott Symons sprinted 30 yards to celebrate with Kimani Donaldson following a successful special teams drill, and linebackers coach Kyle Pope did the same when Aubrey Williams maintained a block during the same drill.

“The energy level’s still there,” junior center Thomas Sargeant said. “All the other coaches have been doing a good job of making sure we’re doing the right thing, keeping us locked in and keeping the energy up during practice and not letting that be a distraction for us.”

McCaw said he has been in daily contact with Freeze through either calls or texts, and Aigamaua added the coaching staff has received daily instruction from Freeze on what he wants accomplished during each practice in preparation for the Aug. 31 season opener at home against Syracuse.