Drinkwitz says Mizzou football facing ‘significant’ contact tracing at one position
Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz always knocked on his wooden lectern when he was asked about the Tigers’ COVID-19 numbers in recent weeks. After all, Drinkwitz warned, those numbers could change with one round of test results.
Mizzou became just the latest SEC program to struggle with the novel coronavirus within the past few days. Drinkwitz said Sunday’s round of testing resulted in one positive COVID-19 case, which led to “significant” contact tracing at one position.
“There’s no outbreak or pause or anything like that,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “We went out and practiced (Tuesday). Then we tested again (Tuesday), then we’ll find out those results.”
Drinkwitz declined to specify which positional group was affected by contact tracing. After Tuesday’s test, the Tigers will have one more round of testing this week on Thursday.
As of now, Mizzou’s game at 11 a.m. Saturday against No. 12 Georgia is still on. Drinkwitz said his team hasn’t had a positive COVID-19 test for four weeks prior to Sunday, adding he wasn’t going to blame his players for catching the virus.
“We’re trying to be very smart about wrapping our arms around it and making sure that there’s not a reason to have to pause,” Drinkwitz said. “Just like the rest of the country, you’re dealing with the highest numbers of the country that we’ve seen. We have one positive and some contact tracing that hampered a position.”
Even without COVID-19’s impact, Mizzou saw its scholarship player count dwindle through injuries, opt outs, transfers and other reasons as the season wore on. Drinkwitz said the Tigers were down to 64 players against Florida on Oct. 31.
While it’s unclear which position was affected, the Tigers could be impacted by the SEC’s roster thresholds it created before the season. The SEC’s minimum mandates 53 scholarship players, along with specific positional thresholds, which include at least one quarterback, seven offensive lineman and four defensive linemen.
Based on contact tracing, there’s the possibility those specific positional requirements could be a problem for the Tigers. Drinkwitz said last week they were down to nine scholarship offensive linemen as injuries knocked out key starters.
If the Tigers fall below the SEC’s roster thresholds, they could still choose to play. Otherwise, the game could be postponed to a later date or deemed a no contest.
Mizzou already had its Vanderbilt game, originally scheduled for Nov. 17, postponed to Dec. 12. The Commodores were battling a COVID-19 outbreak and had fallen below the 53-player mark in the week leading to the game.
If the Tigers have another game postponed, the next potential make-up date could be Dec. 19, the same day as the SEC championship game. Conference officials said that could be another potential open date for teams who don’t qualify for the conference championship.
Tuesday’s news isn’t the first time the Tigers had to deal with the virus and contact tracing. Mizzou was missing starters and depth pieces against LSU because of COVID-19. Those players only missed one game, though, because the Tigers’ next game against Vandy was postponed.
“That’s why they call us coach; it’s to problem-solve,” Drinkwitz said. “We gotta figure it out. I don’t think anybody Saturday is going to give me a free pass because we have six, seven, eight or 12 people out with COVID. Whatever. They’re not giving anybody free passes.”
The conference postponed three games this week because of COVID-19. The Mississippi State vs. Auburn game and Texas A&M at Tennessee games were moved to Dec. 12 because of the virus. The third game, LSU vs. Alabama, will need to be re-evaluated because LSU already had its Florida game postponed to Dec. 12.
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman also tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the school announced Monday. His results after re-testing confirmed the positive, meaning former MU coach Barry Odom will serve as head coach in the interim.
“While it is unfortunate to have multiple postponements in the same week, we began the season with the understanding interruptions to the schedule were possible and we have remained focused throughout the season on the health of everyone around our programs,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “We must remain vigilant, within our programs and in our communities, to prevent the spread of the virus and to manage activities that contribute to these interruptions.”