Nearly two dozen Tennessee football Volunteers players tested positive for COVID-19.
During the early days of players returning to campus, Tennessee football had no cases of coronavirus among its players and very few cases among staff members. However, that has changed leading up to the start of fall camp.
Jeremy Pruitt said in his zoom press conference Monday that 23 players tested positive for the novel virus that has caused a worldwide pandemic between June and Monday. According to Pruitt, the positivity rate for the program is slightly under 2 percent since weekly screenings have begun.
Multiple Tennessee football players were in quarantine when preseason began as well, according to Pruitt. He noted that there was an increase in cases after letting players return from a eight-day break around the Fourth of July when many of them went home. Here’s a bit of what else he said.
"“There’s not been any contact tracing that’s been within our building. It’s all come from outside. We’ve got to do a better job when we’re out and about in public. It’s something we learned right after the Fourth of July.”"
Of course, this virus is what has changed everything for the season. As of right now, the Pac-12, Big Ten, MAC, Mountain West Conference and four Independents have all decided to postpone fall sports due to the scenario. The NCAA, meanwhile, has announced it will not recognize fall sports champions due to the shortage of teams competing.
Meanwhile, the SEC, Big 12 and ACC have moved to all-conference schedules with potentially one exception for each league. The College Football Playoff is also preparing to operate as planned. In the SEC’s case, every team plays a 10-game all-league schedule with two additional interdivisional opponents added to their initial eight-game schedule.
On Monday, it was revealed that Tennessee football would open the season up at the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sept. 26 and close things out against the Florida Gators on Sept. 26. Their two new SEC West opponents, in addition to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Arkansas Razorbacks, are the Auburn Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies.
With nearly two dozen cases and some players currently in quarantine on Rocky Top, however, it’s still a question as to whether or not the season will happen. People have lots of things to figure out, and this will definitely have an impact on how Pruitt runs fall camp. Simply put, nothing is set in stone just yet.