Ohio State standouts not waiting on Big Ten
With the chances of the Big Ten playing a football season slipping away, two of Ohio State’s best players chose to opt out and start preparing for the NFL Draft.
Cornerback Shaun Wade, a preseason AllAmerican and likely first-round pick in the 2021 draft, announced his decision Monday on Twitter, saying the Big Ten waited too long to decide what to do about playing. Wyatt Davis, a guard who is another potential firstround pick, announced his decision Friday.
Wade’s father was one of the football parents leading a charge to persuade the Big Ten to play a fall season. Big Ten school presidents met Sunday but did not take a vote regarding if and when to start the next season, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press.
All eyes now will be on quarterback Justin Fields, who could be one of the top picks in the draft regardless of whether he plays another down of football for the Buckeyes.
If the presidents vote to start by late October, an eight-game season and conference title game in mid-December is still possible. That schedule could set up Big Ten teams to be part of the College Football Playoff.
Two Notre Dame football players tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, the program announced. The two positives were among 419 tests conducted from last week through Monday. Two other players have been placed in quarantine through contact tracing.
A Notre Dame spokesperson would not clarify if the positive test results came before Saturday’s game against Duke, but the announcement indicated neither of the two players who tested positive nor the two placed in quarantine participated in the game.