LSU OL Covid Quarantine

[LSUDad]

Sources: Majority of LSU offensive line quarantined due to coronavirus exposure

• BY WILSON ALEXANDER and BROOKS KUBENA | Staff writers
• AUG 26, 2020 - 2:15 PM

 

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A view of Tiger Stadium from the new Skyline Club that is located atop the south deck of the stadium in Baton Rouge on Thursday, September 7, 2017. (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune) ORG XMIT: NOLA1709071450413170

 

 

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Brooks Kubena

All but four LSU offensive linemen are in quarantine after they either tested positive for COVID-19 or were determined to have high-risk exposure to the coronavirus, multiple sources told The Advocate on Wednesday.

Players who test positive for the coronavirus must isolate for at least 10 days after their positive test, according to Southeastern Conference COVID-19 protocols. Their symptoms must disappear for at least 24 hours before they can return to practice. Individuals with high-risk exposure must quarantine for 14 days.

The athletic department hasn't publicly released information on coronavirus cases and has declined to confirm specifics on outbreaks. The university started reporting aggregate positive coronavirus cases for the first time Aug. 15 when students began returning to campus. Since then, LSU has reported 47 total positive cases with 25 positive results within the last seven days.

 

When reached for comment Wednesday, LSU senior associate athletic director Robert Munson said the athletic department reports all positive cases to the school's Emergency Operations Center.

LSU began preseason practice last Monday. During a press conference the next day, coach Ed Orgeron said LSU had "two-to-three" players who couldn't practice because of the coronavirus. He didn't identify the players.

Orgeron didn't say at the time if anyone else in the football program had to quarantine after high-risk contact, which the NCAA defined as more than 15 minutes with close contact (less than 6 feet apart) with an infected person. 

"Our players feel comfortable that they’re getting the proper care," Orgeron said at the time. "We practice COVID-19 principles in here. Our guys don’t blink.”

 

 

The football team had an initial spike of coronavirus cases earlier this summer. The total number of cases focused around a group of five to six players, a source told The Advocate in June. No players were hospitalized. Every case showed mild symptoms.

At the time, Sports Illustrated reported at least 30 members of LSU's football team were isolated because they either tested positive for COVID-19 or contacted others who tested positive.

Orgeron later said most of the team's cases resulted from players attending bars in Tigerland, a student-focused nightlife area that the Louisiana Department of Health announced June 19 produced more than 100 positive cases.

In early July, Orgeron said reports on the number of players who tested positive were too high and the football program's coronavirus case numbers were "way down" from its initial spike.l

 

 

While many fall sports have been cancelled, six Football Bowl Subdivision conferences intend to play football this fall, including the Southeastern Conference.

The SEC announced in mid-July players can opt out of the season and hold onto their scholarships. Two LSU players have since opted out of the season because of concerns related to the coronavirus: junior defensive lineman Neil Farrell Jr. and senior safety Kary Vincent Jr.

Farrell plans to return for his senior season next fall. Vincent announced he will begin preparing for the NFL draft.

"We feel comfortable," Orgeron said last week. "The guys that did get sick, most of them are asymptomatic. They got quarantine and stuff like that. But we didn’t have guys that were really sick and had to take to the hospital or anything, so I think our guys are getting used to it.”