Although the coronavirus pandemic has impacted nearly everyone across the country in one way or another, Penn State football’s Noah Cain’s experience with the virus hits a little too close to home.

Cain met with the media Tuesday afternoon to discuss the impact that the coronavirus has had on him and his family.

“I had a few family members that had the virus,” Cain said. “I’ve seen what it can do to you. It definitely needs to be taken seriously. It’s not a joke. My cousin had it, my auntie had it, and my mom had it.”

Lucky for Cain, his four family members who contracted the virus made a full recovery. However, there were some days where Cain didn’t know if some of his family members would recover.

“It’s definitely a serious thing,” Cain explained. “The coronavirus really needs to be taken seriously. It’s scary. Some days you don’t know if the person is going to make it, honestly. That’s what taught me to take it more seriously.”

The Baton Rouge native continued, describing the month-and-a-half time frame his family members had the virus as a “difficult time.”

Cain is now back on campus with his teammates, but returning wasn’t an easy decision. Before choosing to come back, he was hesitant due to the dangers presented by the virus.

“It was a difficult decision for me to come back,” he said. “Just because of the fact that it is so easy to get it from touching somebody, being in the same room as them, especially on the plane.”

Cain consulted with his parents before opting to come back. They eventually came to an agreement that it was best for him to return to State College. He believes returning to a “small town” like State College will be safer and more isolated than his previous locations, Dallas and Arizona.

The Nittany Lion went into detail when talking about the effects that the coronavirus had on his family, more specifically with his mom and his cousin.

“She had it for like a month,” Cain explained. “She went back-and-forth to the doctor, kept testing positive over and over again. Everything they say about the virus — you lose your smell, you lose your taste, throwing up, stomach hurting — it’s a real thing. That’s why I take it as disrespectful when people don’t take it as seriously because it’s a real thing. I’ve seen what it can do.”

Cain added that his cousin even developed blood clots in his body because of it.

He continued, noting he’s concerned about how the virus could impact him and his teammates once the football season starts this fall. After seeing it spread through his family, Cain knows it only takes one individual to spread the coronavirus.

Cain believes playing in Beaver Stadium with nonexistent or reduced crowds will be a big adjustment for everyone. Not being #107KStrong would certainly different, but he knows getting the season in however possible is more important.

“As long as we get a season in, ball is ball at the end of the day,” Cain said.