Multiple football team members may be unable to play because of COVID-19 contact
Junior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has come into contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 and is awaiting tests to determine his eligibility for upcoming games. UCLA football’s signal-caller has had more than 600 yards from scrimmage in the first two weeks of the season but will potentially miss the Oregon game Saturday. (Liz Ketcham/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Jon Christon
Nov. 19, 2020 8:48 p.m.
This post was updated on Nov. 20 at 6:57 p.m.
The Bruins could be without their signal-caller Saturday.
Multiple UCLA players could be out for Saturday’s game at Oregon because of COVID-19 protocol, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, the most prominent of them being junior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
UCLA Athletics announced Friday night that two individuals within the program and three members of the Athletics support staff had tested positive sometime during the week. The positive tests were confirmed with polymerase chain reaction – or PCR – tests.
According to the school, anyone who tests positive will be forced to isolate for at least 10 days or until it is proven to be a false positive, meaning if the positive tests are from players, they will likely miss Saturday’s game at Oregon.
It is unknown who the individuals within the program are or who they were in contact with.
Pac-12 policy states that anyone who was in “close contact” of someone infected will be forced to quarantine for 14 days. The conference designates “close contact” as anyone within six feet of the infected person for 15 or more minutes within a 48-hour span of a positive test.
If the contact tracing proves true, Thompson-Robinson and the other Bruins affected could potentially miss week four’s matchup against Arizona as well, according to these protocols.
If Thompson-Robinson is unable to go, it is likely that the Bruins turn to redshirt freshman Chase Griffin. Griffin – currently listed as one of two backup quarterbacks on the depth chart – has yet to throw a pass in his collegiate career.
According to Bolch, UCLA is expected to have enough players to meet the 53 scholarship limit needed to play the game.
