After two positive coronavirus tests were confirmed and contact tracing procedures were conducted, seven USC football players are now quarantined and must sit out Saturday, assuming that USC’s matchup with Colorado is cleared to continue.
Those players weren’t identified by USC due to privacy laws, but coach Clay Helton said on Thursday that multiple starters are involved.
If USC is cleared, it’s guaranteed to be short handed on Saturday. But after several days of uncertainty cast doubt on the status of its matchup with Colorado, Helton said on Thursday morning that he believes USC is in “a very good place right now.”
“We’re very fortunate because of the protocols we have in place as well as I thought great decision and guidance by everybody to be able to take a step back and really calculate where we were and not rush into anything,” Helton said. “I think that’s helped us immensely, and hopefully based on the testing we see today and tomorrow that we’ve caught it and ended it.”
Those protocols were tested on Monday night, when one player tested positive following USC’s road trip to Utah last weekend. As USC tried to get a handle on a potential outbreak, another player tested positive, but was asymptomatic, while five others were deemed close contacts and forced to quarantine.
By Wednesday, USC was cleared by public health officials to practice again. As Helton saw it, the process was proof of how well USC’s safety protocols are working.
“This could’ve been devastating,” Helton said. “Because we haven’t had a ton of positives. This could’ve ran through the team extremely fast, and all of a sudden, half your football team is out. But from everything we’re doing, the way we travel, the way we stay in hotels, the way we eat, the way we test, everything, it really limited the scope”
The full scope of how much USC is impacted won’t be clear until Saturday. The Trojans were already expecting to be short handed at inside linebacker, with Palaie Gaoteote still in the concussion protocol and Ralen Goforth questionable with a mid-foot sprain.
Helton and his staff made a point during training camp of rotating more than usual, in the event that several players were held out due to an outbreak. Now, that investment will be put to the test.
“It’s going to be neat to see those men who step in and the job that they do,” Helton said. “Some of them, it will be their first opportunity of this season to make a major contribution. Like I told the team, we’re excited for them. And to the guys that make major contributions, it’s your time to step up even more. Put the Superman cape on and be truly special and lift our football team.”