COVID-19: Interim Southern Miss coach Scotty Walden tests positive
Another college football head coach has tested positive for COVID-19.
Southern Miss announced Tuesday that interim coach Scotty Walden had tested positive for the coronavirus. Walden took over as the team’s coach after Jay Hopson parted ways with the school after the first game of the season.
“Earlier this morning I tested positive for COVID-19,” Walden said in a statement. “I am fine and have mild to no symptoms. I am quarantining back home until it is safe to rejoin the team. I want to thank Golden Eagle Nation for all of their support for our program during this difficult period. I want to thank our players and staff for continuing to be incredibly resilient during such an unstable time.”
The school said that Walden will take a follow-up test on Wednesday to confirm his COVID-19 diagnosis.
Walden’s positive test comes after Southern Miss’ game against UTEP on Oct. 17 was postponed because the Eagles didn’t have enough players to play due to a coronavirus outbreak. Southern Miss hasn’t played since Oct. 3 and is set to play Saturday against Liberty.
Walden said Monday at his news conference that he was “hopeful” the team would be able to play against Liberty because many of the players who were in quarantine during the outbreak would be able to play.
Multiple coaches have tested positive
The announcement of Walden’s positive test comes two days after Florida coach Dan Mullen announced that he had the coronavirus. Mullen’s revelation came on the same day that Alabama coach Nick Saban was cleared to coach against Georgia after his positive coronavirus test was deemed a false positive following three straight negative follow-up tests.
Les Miles didn’t coach against West Virginia on Oct. 17 as a precaution after he had been cleared to return following his coronavirus diagnosis. Other coaches like Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson and Florida State’s Mike Norvell have also said they’ve tested positive for COVID-19 during the season.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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