Clemson football is proof that CFB this fall can happen
While there are plenty of reasons to doubt that a season can be played, the Clemson football program is one example of why it can happen this fall.
There are no guarantees in the midst of a pandemic and nothing is a given, but the model we’ve seen from Clemson football shows that- with proper protocols and procedures- that student-athletes can be taken care of, at least in a better capacity than if they were just out and about in the community, and that has been shown this summer.
Over the course of summer workouts, there was perhaps no program with a bigger outbreak than Clemson football. When the Tigers first came back to campus, and in the weeks that followed, there were positive cases all over the place and it led to many wondering if the program would be shut down before it ever even got to get started.
But, with proper protocols and procedures, Clemson football was able to continue and the result has been success. At least, to this point, without students back on campus.
Clemson Athletics released its latest COVID-19 results and there were no positives among members of the football team. Clemson has had just one positive test among football student-athletes since July 10.
Clemson football isn’t perfect, but the Tigers have done a great job after an early outbreak
The Tigers were able to manage an early outbreak this summer and they’ve now done a great job remaining on task and following proper procedures and protocols to remain healthy and away from areas of major exposure and risk.
Students coming back to campus, obviously, presents a huge hurdle that the Tigers will have to overcome, but the essence of the negative test results- now for more than a month- shows that football programs, especially in the Power-3, can keep their athletes safe and that should give some confidence moving forward with the season.
As we said before, there is no guarantee when it comes to the pandemic and there have been many programs across the country that have had to pause workouts and practices at some point or another, but Clemson shows that there is hope for a season being played and the major hope is that these outbreaks- if and when they happen- can be managed.