Missouri Tigers football gets bad news on COVID-19 front with Alabama game looming
The Missouri Tigers are 10 days away from their football season opener but already know who won’t be playing that day.
Mizzou had 12 players miss Wednesday’s practice because of COVID-19 and they won’t be able to play Sept. 26 against No. 2 Alabama, MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz said.
The dozen players, who weren’t publicly identified, haven’t necessarily tested positive for the coronavirus. They could also be quarantined through contact tracing after exposure to a positive case.
“Out is out,” Drinkwitz said on a video call Wednesday. “Whether they got it or whether they’re contact traced, out is out. They can’t be around us. There’s no reason to get into the numbers games or hype. We’re down 12 guys, it is what it is.”
SEC guidelines mandate that players are ineligible for at least 18 days after potential exposure to the coronavirus. While players who test positive can return in as few as 14 days with a negative test result, that still knocks them out of the Alabama game.
The number of unavailable players could also fluctuate. The latest test results were from Sunday and the Tigers went through another round of testing Wednesday. They will be tested for the coronavirus again Friday as part of the SEC’s three-tests-per-week policies.
Drinkwitz said no known cases of transmission were traced back to the facilities, but because he’s not a doctor, he couldn’t speak as an authority. He said if there is a positive case, then it usually gets contact traced to roommates, which also knocks them out of practice for the necessary period.
Mizzou’s most recent test results yielded seven positive COVID-19 cases, up from four positives a week ago. It’s affected practices as the Tigers are missing portions of their positional groups, especially at offensive line, which has also been hampered by injuries.
The quarantined players aren’t able to do anything else when it comes to team activities, Drinkwitz said. The most they can do is Zoom with their positional groups, but otherwise, the team makes sure the student-athletes are safe and accounted for.
Drinkwitz said he wasn’t worried yet about whether Mizzou’s first game against Alabama would be played as scheduled, but to get back to him after Wednesday’s test results. At this point, though, it’s mainly uncertainty for the first-year MU coach.
“We just adjust our roster and this is who’s available,” Drinkwitz said of adapting on the fly. “We’ve adjusted the way we practice.”
Opt outs
Mizzou had two players opt out for the 2020 season: defensive lineman Chris Daniels and wide receiver Maurice Massey. They’re the first MU football players who’ve elected to sit out this season. Walk-on wide receiver Daniel Ehlinger also “decided to move on and pursue something out of football,” Drinkwitz said.
Drinkwitz said he supported each player’s decisions and had conversations with Daniels and Massey.
“If somebody chooses to opt out, we have their back and we support them and wish them well,” Drinkwitz said. “Then we carry on. We want to make sure that they’re being taken care of academically and in the training room. Whatever aspects we can help them.”
The SEC has said it will honor any athlete’s scholarship if they choose to opt out, and they will remain in good standing with the team.
Massey, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, played in four games in 2019. He had a chance to suit up as part of the wideout rotation this season. Daniels is a former junior college defensive lineman who had one year of eligibility remaining.
Even if Massey or Daniels elects to return — which Drinkwitz said was doubtful — their eligibility will remain unaffected. The NCAA approved a blanket waiver that effectively freezes eligibility for fall student-athletes for the 2020 season.
“We’re moving on with guys that are wanting to play this year,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s a different dynamic. Individually, you respect them and wish them well. But then, gotta snap back in and do what’s best for the team moving forward.”