Florida Puts Pause on Team Activities Following Spike in COVID-19 Cases, Play LSU Football in Four Days

Gators don't release names of players out with virus, had one positive test last week

Florida has put a pause on team activities following its announcement that five players have tested positive for COVID-19. The Gators are supposed to play LSU in four days. 

"Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week's opponent Texas A&M, and this week's opponent LSU," athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. 

It's being reported by the Alligator, the student newspaper that as many as 19 additional football players have tested positive since the most recent report. 

The Florida football program announced on Tuesday that five players have tested positive for COVID-19. The Gators announced one positive case a week ago and have added five more positive tests with the game against LSU now five days away. 

Florida didn't reveal the names of the players who had contracted the virus or if there were any additional players who were quarantining. 

“I think if you look at what we’ve been able to do, the safety precautions we have that our players have followed, our coaches follow, our staff follows, you know, I think we’re a model of safety of what we’ve been doing during this time period," coach Dan Mullen said Monday.

LSU just can't seem to get away from other teams’ reported cases. Vanderbilt and Missouri both had multiple players sit out of its matchups with the purple and gold due to positive COVID cases. The LSU radio broadcast team was forced into quarantine after being exposed to the virus in Nashville, though the Advocate reports none have tested positive at this time. 

Missouri was without "seven or eight" players including three receivers for its game against LSU because of positive cases. In fact, the SEC announced on Monday that the Missouri and Vanderbilt game has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases on both teams.

The news out of Florida comes on the heels of Mullen expressing his wishes to "pack the Swamp" for the LSU game following the Gators' loss to Texas A&M last weekend. The school has since come out and said it has no intentions of doing so despite Governor Ron DeSantis moving the state into Phase 3, which lifts the restrictions on attendance. 

A schedule change was announced on Tuesday stating that LSU and Florida will kickoff at 3 p.m. on ESPN. The game was originally slated for 2:30 p.m.