8 Alabama Football Players Test Positive For Coronavirus (COVID-19)

In total, the eight Alabama football players have recently tested positive for coronavirus. Five players came down with COVID-19 last week and three more tested positive this week.

Alabama has yet to confirm this report of three additional players testing positive, but they put out a statement following the initial diagnosis of five players:

“The health and safety of our student-athletes is a top priority,” the statement read. “Resources and protocols are in place to ensure they receive the best medical care when returning to campus. Due to privacy laws we cannot share information specific to the health of our student-athletes.”

What This Means For College Football

Obviously, as the statement notes, we won’t know what players tested positive, but we do know that this is more than just an isolated incident. It’s safe to assume that Bama will put these three players in isolation, as they did just that with the five who tested positive last week.

Alabama is one of several SEC schools that are allowing players back on campus for voluntary workouts. College football coaches and administrators seem determined to press forward with the 2019 season, but it’s becoming quite clear that COVID-19 isn’t going away. Figuring out the safest approach to playing football in the fall — with or without fans — should be the top priority right now. A massive outbreak that puts student-athletes in danger would be an absolute disaster for the NCAA.

This spring and summer have been quite different than normal and we’re already seeing some slight changes to the 2019 schedule. Notre Dame and Navy were set to meet in Dublin, Ireland for the 2020 Aer Lingus College Football Classic during Week 0 of the season, but that’s since been moved to Week 1 in Annapolis, MD.

Expect more changes to come if outbreaks like the one in Tuscaloosa persist.