Player isolated after a conflict in test results
A UCLA football player who tested positive for COVID- 19 this week has tested negative through more sophisticated followup testing but must receive a second negative result before being cleared to rejoin the team, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to disclose the results publicly because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The player entered isolation for 10 days from the date of the f irst test or until the verification of a false positive. A handful of close contacts from the team have been placed in quarantine for 14 days from the last date of contact or until the false positive is confirmed, the person with knowledge of the situation said.
It was the f irst positive test result from the team in more than a month and came as a result of antigen testing. Follow- up PCR testing that is considered more sensitive and reliable returned a negative result.
False positives have become an increasingly common theme across college football. Alabama coach Nick Saban was deemed to have recorded a false positive recently, and f ive Oregon players who initially tested positive for COVID- 19 last week were allowed to return to the team after followup PCR testing confirmed the results were false positives.
Over the last week, UCLA has conducted 923 antigen and 325 PCR tests in its athletics population, with zero positive PCR results and one positive antigen result from the football player. Since the school started testing in late June, it has given 5,663 tests that have yielded one positive antigen and 16 positive PCR results among athletes, coaches and staff.
McClendon enters transfer portal
UCLA broke training camp Friday with one fewer running back.
Redshirt freshman Jahmon McClendon entered the transfer portal and will not return to the team, coach Chip Kelly said.
McClendon did not play last season and his departure was not much of a surprise, given how wellstocked the Bruins are at his position. Beyond graduate transfer Brittain Brown and redshirt senior Demetric Felton Jr., who are expected to get the bulk of the carries this season, the team has junior Martell Irby, redshirt sophomore Kazmeir Allen and redshirt freshmen Keegan Jones and Christian Grubb in addition to redshirt junior Cole Kinder, a walk- on.
“We’re seven or eight deep there,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of guys in that room right now.”
The Bruins’ depth was recently enhanced by Irby’s return to practice after being slowed early in camp by a knee injury.
Players who enter the transfer portal can stay with their current team after assessing their options, but Kelly said McClendon was no longer practicing with the Bruins and would complete his college career elsewhere. A San Diego native, McClendon had strongly considered San Diego State before signing with UCLA.
Now he’s become the latest Bruin to depart, joining more than 80 other players who have left Kelly’s program with remaining eligibility since his arrival in November 2017.
Suspension update
Kelly apologized for not disclosing the indefinite suspension of reserve defensive lineman Steven Mason, who was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of felony domestic abuse. Mason was in quarantine at the time of the alleged incident after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus
“I was asked a question pointedly about COVID and he was the only kid that was in quarantine and I just said he was in quarantine, so that’s my fault,” Kelly said. “I apologize and I was wrong.”
Kelly said he could not comment on what factors might determine Mason’s future with the team. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has declined to f ile charges, referring the case to the L. A. city attorney’s office for an informal resolution hearing.
Etc.
While Luke Akers and Nicholas Barr- Mira continue to battle for the kicking and punting jobs, both f igure to be on the field whenever the Bruins attempt a field goal. Akers holds for BarrMira and Barr- Mira holds for Akers. “They are two peas in a pod and are with each other 24/ 7,” Kelly said. “Socially distanced, by the way.” … Kelly said redshirt senior wide receiver Ethan Fernea would have to sit out the season opener against Colorado on Nov. 7 as part of the NCAA’s conditions for granting him a f ifth year of eligibility because he had played “one or two snaps” as a true freshman. Fernea will be able to play in every other game this season.