After COVID outbreak, Wisconsin football trending in right direction to resume season vs. Michigan
Wisconsin football returned to conditioning as the team is trending in the right direction of resuming the season after a two-week COVID pause.
Wisconsin had as many as 27 COVID-19 cases after beginning their season two weeks ago. After having the last two games canceled as a result of the outbreak, the Badgers are inching toward resuming the season for their big game at Michigan next Saturday.
The Badgers returned to the field on Friday to take part in conditioning drills where players, coaches and staff wore masks and were distanced as much as possible throughout their time on the field.
A second conditioning session is taking place on Saturday with another update coming on Monday which should provide more details about the fate of Saturday’s clash with Michigan. It is trending in the right direction that the game will be played, but starting quarterback Graham Mertz will still be in his 21-day holdout period after his positive test came after the opening win vs. Illinois.
However, head coach Paul Chryst will be allowed to coach after he also tested positive.
Wisconsin released the following statement:
"The Wisconsin football team took part in limited on-field conditioning Friday afternoon. Student-athletes were broken up into multiple groups, and all staff and student-athletes were required to wear masks and remain physically distanced at all times. The Badgers plan to hold another conditioning session on Saturday.Over the last four days of testing, one student-athlete and one staff member have recorded positive tests for COVID-19. The football program currently has 14 active COVID-19 cases, nine student-athletes and five staff members. Five of those positive results have come in the last seven days. UW Athletics will continue to monitor the testing results closely to determine the football program’s activities moving forward.The football team continues to hold all team and position-specific meetings virtually. In addition, the football program has secured additional locker room space adjacent to its regular locker room in the basement of the McClain Center in order to allow for opportunity to remain physically distant when in the facility.The Badger football team first paused team activities on Oct. 28 and its scheduled games at Nebraska on Oct. 31 and home vs. Purdue on Nov. 7 were cancelled.Wisconsin Athletics plans to provide another update on Monday, Nov. 9."
An official announcement will come next week but Badgers fans should be cautiously optimistic that they’ll be able to watch their team next Saturday.
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