UT football scrimmage canceled, 44 players unable to participate

Posted: Sep 5, 2020 / 07:27 PM EDT / Updated: Sep 6, 2020 / 02:54 PM EDT

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – UT football head coach Jeremy Pruitt said they had to cancel their scrimmage, due to 44 players being unable to participate.

Some of those players were out for injuries. However, about seven or eight players were out after they tested positive for COVID-19. The majority that were out today because of contact tracing protocols, according to Pruitt.

Pruitt said that 48 guys have missed at least 14 days due to quarantine. Four of them also had to quarantine twice.

“So we’re trying to get through the contact tracing. You know when a guy misses 14 days of practice or 14 days of training, starting over is kind of having a cumulative effect a little bit,” said Pruitt. “A few injuries here and there, nothing severe, but some guys have had to miss some practice time. It’s definitely been challenging and we’ve got to continue to improve as a football team and figure out the circumstances and figure out a way to be productive in them.”

The Vols canceled a scheduled practice last week as a result of a spike of positive tests but have since returned to practice four times.