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Welcome to a humpday edition of Gators News in which we find ourselves exactly one month away from the opening game of the Southeastern Conference’s 2020 fall football schedule amidst the novel coronavirus epidemic.
At the top of the news, USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken talks about how college presidents hold fate of football season in their hands. Says professor emeritus of epidemiology and biostatistics at South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health Harris Pastides, “It’s always lonely at the top.”
Here in the SEC, Vanderbilt football resumes practices after a five-day pause due to positive COVID-19 tests. On Wednesday morning, coach Derek Mason tweeted, “Workout Wednesday has begun … 5:45 a.m. weights – Done! Class work to grass work … we’re back.”
In other coronavirus news, The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson discusses how Oklahoma football a walked tight rope that all of college football might soon face due to COVID-19. To understand the high-wire act that is college football, listen to what Lincoln Riley had to deal with last week.
Around the Swamp
- Three Florida Gators commits make SI’s list of top-99 players in 2021 class: While the Florida Gators did not have any commits make the top-10, three of the program’s 24 soon-to-be signees in the upcoming class made the cut, led by Miami five-star cornerback Jason Marshall at No. 14.
- Florida Gators football holdouts report to practice, will play this fall: Now, all four have reported for practice and are planning on participating in the 2020 season, according to a report from Gators Territory’s Zach Abolverdi.
- Position-by-position: How do the Gators stack up against the rest of the country?: In its “Position U” analysis, ESPN evaluated which schools produce the best talent at each spot based on Pro Football Focus data, among other criteria.
- Zero positive coronavirus test results reported for Florida Gators football: On Tuesday, the school released its coronavirus testing data taken from student-athletes starting on May 26 and ending yesterday, with only one positive COVID-19 result reported for the month of August among all sports.
It’s great to be a Florida Gator!
This is why we stick together. #GoGators@GatorsBB pic.twitter.com/P5usFXPe9C
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) August 20, 2020
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