Owls returning to practice after positive COVID-19 tests last week
The FAU football team will return to practice Wednesday morning after three members of the program tested positive for COVID-19 last week, putting a stop to practices last Friday.
The Owls had conducted over two weeks of fall practices before reporting any novel coronavirus cases Aug. 21. Most of the team returned to campus in early June for voluntary on-campus athletic activities before officially starting practices on Aug. 5.
FAU went through another round of testing Monday before scheduling to resume practices.
“It’s one of those educational things that we’re all going to have to learn throughout this pandemic as we try to get through the season,” FAU coach Willie Taggart said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon. “It’s one of those things where you’re going to try to adjust as you go. We have a good plan in place, but at the end of the day it’s about trying to be as safe as possible and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Players will continue to be tested weekly as the team gears up for the 2020 season, which the Owls kick off against Georgia Southern on Sept. 19. Yahoo Sports reported last week that Conference USA is “leaning toward” mandatory COVID-19 testing three times during competition weeks.
“What helps is that we don’t play until Sept. 19,” Taggart said, “so it gives us an opportunity to experience it now and how to adjust with it moving forward. None of us know how it’s going to go, but we’ve got to be ready.”
Taggart said the individuals who tested positive were asymptomatic and doing well, saying, “like any other competitor, they’re frustrated because they want to be out there.”
Those who tested positive will have to self-quarantine and remain away from the team for 10-14 days.
“They’ll be away for a little bit and get back with us,” Taggart added.
The FAU coach said he didn’t anticipate making too many adjustments to practice in light of the positive coronavirus cases on the team and expressed confidence in the protocols the program has in place.
“It’s one of those things where we have to be smart while we’re out there,” he said. “We got to do that even while we’re on the football field. We gotta make sure they continue to do a good job [away from our facilities]. Especially with more people back on campus.”
When the Owls return to practice, Taggart and his staff will have a quarterback competition to figure out between redshirt juniors Nick Tronti and Justin Agner, redshirt freshman Javion Posey and true freshman Willie Taggart Jr.
He’s previously said that there isn’t a timetable on when he expects a starter to be named, adding Tuesday that there isn’t a front-runner for the starting role.
“All of those guys are doing some really good things each and every week,” Taggart said. “They’ve all been impressive in certain ways. I don’t think we’ve practiced enough to be able to say one’s separated from another. I think when we have our first scrimmage [this weekend], you’ll start to see those things start to happen.”