No. 10 Florida has paused arranged football activities due to COVID-19 issues. The school announced Tuesday that an increase in positive tests resulted in its decision to halt practices, a decision that will be evaluated on Wednesday by University of Florida Health and the athletic departments sports medicine staff.
Florida reported five positive COVID-19 tests within the football group on Tuesday early morning. Nevertheless, the Independent Florida Alligator– and later the Associated Press– report that number has swollen to 19. G. Allan Taylor of The Athletic corroborated the inflated number of positives, including that another 10 gamers face obligatory quarantines due to contact tracing. “Most of those 29 gamers presently sidelined are on scholarship, which leaves in question whether the Gators can fulfill the minimum of 53 scholarship gamers required to play a video game under SEC guidelines,” Taylor wrote..
Furthermore, Mullen told reporters on Wednesday that two assistant coaches tested positive for COVID-19, but are asymptomatic..
” Head coach Dan Mullen has remained in interaction with football gamers and their moms and dads, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, recentlys opponent Texas A&M, and todays challenger LSU,” stated athletic director Scott Stricklin in a statement on Tuesday.
Florida isnt simply dealing with the coronavirus. Per SEC guidelines, a team must have at least 7 offensive linemen, one quarterback and four defensive linemen within the 53-man lineup minimums.
The Gators are scheduled to host LSU this weekend, however that video game could be in jeopardy based on how long Floridas pause in exercises lasts. The Gators have actually been checking every day this week after the spike in positives on Sunday with the latest round of testing taking location at about 7 a.m. on Wednesday early morning.
Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork released a declaration in the wake of Floridas choice on Tuesday afternoon.
Florida reported five positive COVID-19 tests within the football team on Tuesday morning. The Independent Florida Alligator– and later the Associated Press– report that number has actually swollen to 19. Florida isnt simply dealing with the coronavirus. The Gators are set up to host LSU this weekend, however that game could be in jeopardy based on how long Floridas time out in exercises lasts.
The news comes one day after Vanderbilts home game with Missouri was delayed due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing issues within the Commodores football program. That game, which was arranged for this Saturday, is the very first to be postponed or changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
” We have been in touch with authorities at the University of Florida and have actually likewise evaluated the readily available data from the Kinexon contact tracing system deployed by the SEC,” he said. “At this point, there has actually been no impact within our football program, but we will continue our routine screening routine this week and stay diligent with all our security procedures.”.
Mullen has been vocal about his desire to “pack The Swamp” this weekend for the cross-division rivalry game vs. the Tigers after the state relocated to Phase 3 of its reopening plan, which enables full attendance at arenas. Floridas athletic director and university president rapidly verified that attendance inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium would not be increased beyond the 17,000 seats presently provided to the general public amidst the pandemic.
The third-year coach walked that sentiment back on Wednesday, deferring instead to recommendations from local health authorities..
