Miami coach Manny Diaz in isolation with coronavirus
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami coach Manny Diaz said Friday he is in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus, and he will work virtually with the No. 12 Hurricanes until he can return to the field.
Miami is not scheduled to play again until Dec. 5 at Wake Forest. The Hurricanes had games scheduled for this coming Saturday and Nov. 28, postponing both earlier this week because of coronavirus issues.
“I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am currently in isolation and feeling good overall,” Diaz tweeted. “I will continue to work with our team virtually as we prepare for our next game at Wake Forest.”
The Hurricanes are third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 7-1 overall and 6-1 in league play. They’ve won each of their last four games, including a comeback 25-24 win at Virginia Tech last weekend. Miami was “on the brink,” Diaz said, of choosing to not play that game because its roster was dealing with so many coronavirus cases.
“We were just really down on the numbers at offensive line,” Diaz said after that game, in which his five starting offensive linemen played all 86 snaps without a substitution. “And you know, just makes it hard to practice, makes it hard to do anything.”
He becomes the latest major-college football coach to have a positive COVID-19 test released, a list that includes Florida’s Dan Mullen, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin and Kansas’ Les Miles. Alabama coach Nick Saban also tested positive, but did not miss a game after that result was later deemed false.
No. 7 Cincinnati, AAC football games rescheduled
Seventh-ranked Cincinnati’s game against No. 25 Tulsa has been moved again in a shuffling of the American Athletic Conference football schedule.
The Bearcats and Golden Hurricane are now set to play Dec. 12, a week before the planned date of the conference championship game. The game was originally scheduled for Oct. 17, then moved to Dec. 4.
The AAC also announced new dates for five other games postponed because of COVID-19 issues. The first is Memphis at Navy on Nov. 28.
Three games have been set for Dec. 5: Houston at SMU, Memphis and Tulane and Tulsa at Navy. Houston at Memphis was rescheduled for Dec. 12.