MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — While the results of Wednesday’s COVID-19 tests are still unknown for the West Virginia football team, coach Neal Brown said Tuesday the Mountaineers remain relatively unaffected compared to a few of their Big 12 counterparts.
Baylor was forced to postpone its game Saturday against Oklahoma State due to an outbreak that is now in the 30s within its football program. Athletic director Mack Rhoades even said an infected person likely took the trip to Morgantown for the Bears’ Oct. 3 game against WVU because of a false negative, and he believes the spread may have happened at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“We think about Friday night (Oct. 2) at the team meal, could something have been transmitted at that point in time, even though our student-athletes and staff were wearing masks and they were socially distant and weren’t together for a long period of time, or was it the locker room?” Rhoades said during his weekly radio show.
“All visiting football locker rooms are smaller than what the home team gets. So it was very cramped quarters. Both the locker room was and the locker room for the staff. That’s where we’ve narrowed it down to. We think that’s the likelihood of where this thing started.”
Rhoades indirectly blamed the accommodations at WVU on the Bears’ current COVID-19 struggles, but the Mountaineers have only announced one positive test since the season began — an Oct. 2 positive test for offensive lineman James Gmiter.
Brown isn’t sure of Gmiter’s status for Saturday’s game against Kansas, but he will likely know later today.
As for the Jayhawks, they’ve had COVID issues of their own, as head coach Les Miles tested positive last week and has been doing virtual meetings while also missing KU’s game against Oklahoma State last week.
“Coach Miles is doing well,” defensive coordinator DJ Eliot said Monday. “Coach Miles is continuing to address the team via Zoom and the coaching staff via Zoom. Fortunately, with the technology we’ve developed over the pandemic, he’s been able to continue the process as the head coach. We’ve had one practice without him, and that went well. Our players are motivated. We’re very prepared for this week and looking forward to having good practices this week, as well as looking forward to having coach Miles at the game this Saturday.”
The Big 12 requires testing three times per week — Sunday, Wednesday and Friday — but Friday’s test is an antigen test, which allow for quicker results. In Baylor’s case, its false negative may have occurred due to the antigen test prior to leaving Waco for West Virginia. In Kansas’ case, Miles could make the trip to coach the Jayhawks at WVU if Friday’s test is negative prior to leaving.
Eliot said Miles is not the only member of the KU football program to test positive throughout the course of the pandemic, and he had a plan in place in case it did affect him.
“Coach Miles immediately had a plan put in place for how we were to handle practice Thursday and how we were going to handle preparations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Eliot said. “He’s been in contact with us on a daily basis. He’s been running staff meetings and has been involved with the individual staff meetings as far as offense, defense and special teams as well via Zoom. The coordinators are handling their areas with coach Miles directing us for exactly what he wants us to do. He plans to be there Saturday.”
As for WVU, Brown didn’t want to give away his plan in case he tested positive, but there is one in place.
“We’ve got a plan,” he quipped. “It’s in a vault.”
