Mizzou football on edge of COVID-19 roster minimum as South Carolina kickoff nears
The Missouri Tigers got good news in the form of no news as their Tuesday COVID-19 test results came back negative.
That means MU is still scheduled to play South Carolina at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. But MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s team has one more round of testing on Thursday, the final hurdle ahead of game day.
Mizzou crept closer to the SEC’s 53-player roster threshold, though. Drinkwitz said Tuesday the Tigers were at 56 available scholarship players.
Then wide receiver Dominic Gicinto announced plans to transfer. Another player also had to go into quarantine because of contact tracing, according to MU. That leaves the Tigers with 54 players available in practice.
But they are still expecting to play Saturday.
“This year, any time you get an opportunity to play the game, you gotta relish it,” Drinkwitz said Wednesday on the weekly SEC coaches call. “That’s what we’re focusing on trying to do.”
Drinkwitz said the 54-player mark includes left guard Xavier Delgado and defensive tackle Kobie Whiteside, who still have a chance to play in Saturday’s game. He said both starters were questionable Tuesday. Tight end Daniel Parker Jr. was not included in the count as he was ruled out for the game.
Even if the Tigers — or any other SEC team — fall below the 53-player mark, they can still choose to play the game, which was outlined when the league announced its game cancellation and rescheduling guidelines. MU postponed its Georgia game last week because it fell below the positional threshold at defensive line.
While players leave the program, MU can’t transfer those scholarships to a walk-on to increase the scholarship player count. Drinkwitz said they certify rosters in August, then that number lasts until the semester of the player’s graduation or the semester they transfer out of the program.
“The soonest we’d be able to reward anybody with a scholarship would be in January, which is kind of sad,” Drinkwitz said. “Some of us had petitioned for opt outs or tried to replace some of these walk-ons and give those guys these scholarships. But it wasn’t something that the NCAA was willing to do, which obviously leaves to where you’re at with the 53 numbers and all that stuff.”
South Carolina has also seen its roster cut down. Gamecocks interim coach Mike Bobo said Wednesday “we’re close to that number ourselves” when asked about MU’s dwindling player numbers.
Bobo said they’re clear after their most recent round of testing Tuesday. But that leaves the Gamecocks in a similar spot as the Tigers, where they take one more test Thursday.
“With injuries and opt outs, we’re close to (Drinkwitz’s) number,” Bobo said. “I think everyone’s thin. Right now, you’re thin just because of injuries. Then you add opt outs and it causes some concern for you as a coach.”