Oklahoma football pauses workouts due to change in 2020 schedule

Oklahoma football has been one of the leaders during the coronavirus pandemic, and the Sooners are halting practice ahead of the season.

Oklahoma football has been one of the leaders during the coronavirus pandemic, and now the Sooners are doing something, again, before anyone else.

After the NCAA approved of the waiver, Oklahoma’s first game was moved up one week to Aug. 29. That allowed the Sooners to begin practice, but practices have come to a stop.

“We decided it’s best to give our players some time off,” said Lincoln Riley in a press release on Saturday night. “We were able to start camp before the vast majority of teams because our Aug. 29 season-opening game date was the earliest in the country. With that first game pushed back a week or two, it only makes sense to spread out our practices and give our guys some time away. They’ve done a great job so far.”

In the release, Oklahoma announces the first game is not taking place on Aug. 29 against Missouri State. Riley mentioned the fact that a lot of conversations are happening about punting on the fall season entirely.

“We’re also mindful of all the conversations across the country with regard to the 2020 season,” Riley said. “The added benefit of temporarily breaking from training camp is that it gives us a few more days to monitor those talks.”

Oklahoma players are currently allowed to go home for the week and return on Friday. The Sooners will be required to go through COVID-19 testing upon arrival.

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