AUBURN, Alabama (AP) – Auburn expects to return to practice on Monday minus 16 offside players after positive COVID-19 testing.
Coach Gus Malzahn said Sunday night that the Tigers had five positives early in the week and four more after additional testing Thursday. With contact tracing, seven others who had close contact with them face a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
“We had two teams of positions where we didn’t have enough boys,” coach Gus Malzahn said Sunday night. He refused to say what positions.
Malzahn said players didn’t want to attend meetings Thursday after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Players who test positive must stay isolated for 10 days followed by a seven-day reacclimation process.
The Tigers haven’t practiced since Tuesday and canceled a scrum scheduled for Saturday. Malzahn said players will be evaluated on Sundays and Thursdays.
The Tigers are scheduled to open the season on September 26 in Kentucky.