Penn State Sports Magazine
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firm the initial result. Players who were confirmed to have COVID would be re- quired to sit out for at least 21 days and undergo a range of cardiac tests before returning to practice. It's the first part of that testing process that was causing problems for Penn State in November. When the antigen test comes back positive, the next step is to administer the PCR test. But because the PCR tests take longer to evaluate, players have had to miss substantial practice time even when they don't have COVID. "We've had a few kids, as well as staff members, who have gotten false posi- tives multiple days in a row," Franklin said. "So it's test positive, get put into isolation, retest, and the test comes back negative later in the day, typically about halfway through practice. Because of the way we're set up here in State College, our retesting is about an hour and 45 minutes away. So we have to drive it an hour and 45 minutes to get the test, wait for the test results and bring them back. "Obviously, depending on where your school is located – the town, the city and things like that – everybody has got dif- ferent circumstances and challenges to deal with. It can be an emotional roller coaster. Throughout the week, you've got staff members who are going through it, and then other guys – GAs or analysts – have to jump into that role for practice that day. "I do know from talking to one of our coaches that another school that he used to work at was down six coaches one day in a practice. Again, this is what 2020 has brought us, and we've got to find a way to navigate it the best we can. It's not a level playing field across college football. Some places are better, some places are worse, some places have more resources and some places have more challenges. It really depends. At the end of the day, you've got to navigate it the best you can, and you've got to find a way to be successful. That's what we're battling every single day." As Franklin noted, the COVID precau- tions have taken an emotional toll on players. Running back Devyn Ford said that the team has had to find a balance between two competing needs: the need to take the virus seriously and the need to maintain as much of a sense of nor- malcy as possible. "It's a little stressful, because you never know what can happen with COVID," Ford said. "With the times we have right now, we just have to be flexible with what's going on and be able to handle sit- uations – take it on, take it lightly, but also take it with a sense of importance." There have been some confirmed posi- tive results in Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics this fall. The university re- leases the department's totals every Wednesday, though it does not break down those numbers on a team-by- team basis. The numbers have remained low in comparison to some other schools throughout the country, several of which have had to temporarily shut down their football operations and cancel games. From Sept. 30, when daily antigen test- ing began for the football program, to Nov. 25, Penn State reported 47 positive tests. That's an average of just under six positives per week. Penn State's worst week during that span was Oct. 17-23 when 13 of the 1,304 tests that the school conducted came back positive. False positives may not be as concern- ing as real positives, but they do have consequences. Penn State has been forced to improvise throughout the sea- son, as coaches have participated in meetings, and occasionally even prac- tices, via Zoom. Doing on-field coach- ing remotely might sound preposterous, but Franklin said it's happened this year. "You've got people running around at practice holding computers," he said. The end result of all that caution was that Penn State was able to play a full schedule through the season's first month. Not every Big Ten team was able to do that. Wisconsin was forced to call off games against Nebraska and Purdue because of a COVID outbreak, Maryland The team needs to begin building momentum for next year... one week at a time. Franklin needs to 6nd out who's in and who's out, then hold players accountable for actions both on and o7 the 6eld. Players need to hold each other accountable. This, in my opinion, will mean new leaders need to step up. ... A captain doesn't need to be a star, but he can't be a weak link or a distraction. jack66 This appears to be an undisciplined team on multiple levels. Sure, we don't see (only read about) the things o7 the 6eld, but Pat Freiermuth made it pretty obvi- ous guys are doing it their way, not the way that Franklin preaches. We do have a ton of underclassmen on this team, and with that comes immaturity. However, who are the leaders of these freshman and sophomore classes? Or are they all im- mature? If it's the latter, then it's a big problem. lilromeo There is only so much accountability that can be managed via Zoom calls, etc. There was very little control over what the players did/didn't do, as well as get- ting to know the new coaches. Having a new WR coach, OL coach and OC, all at one time, with no previously established in-person practices, was a huge detri- ment to the program. While obviously there are things being brought out about immaturity and lack of good decisions by some of these players, I guarantee a lot of that is from not being around older players who may kick their butts. PSUJim Even if it is a minority position, there are a signi6cant number of posts that communicate a sense of entitlement with regard to this team that wouldn't be even remotely possible if not for this coaching sta7 and their leadership. I'll stick with Franklin, his decisions and the outcomes. We are lucky to have him. There are very few coaches who could 6nd the level of success he has generated at our school in this current era of college football. PSUBillmc S I T E L I N E S B W I . R I V A L S . C O M R E A D E R S S O U N D O F F