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Wisconsin QB tests positive

Packerphan

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Sep 20, 2020
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Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz has tested positive for Covid 19. They are awaiting word on second test.
 
This kid now has to sit out a minimum of 21 days per B1G rules. What an absolute joke. The leadership from this conference is absolutely pathetic. He‘s probably completely asymptomatic and if not will be fine in 48 hours, but why not ruin half his season anyways just for fun. Cam Newton was out for 9 days. Can we fire Kevin Warren ASAP and be done with it?
 
I can’t imagine he’d be the only player with it. I think 7 or 8 will need to test positive to cancel the game. Anyone know for sure?
 
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I can’t imagine he’d be the only player with it. I think 7 or 8 will need to test positive to cancel the game. Anyone know for sure?

if 5% of the team and 7.5% of the program population (players, coaches, support staff, trainers, etc) Test positive then the program gets shut down. It’s a joke and with these stupid rules the conference‘s return is destined to fail unless they are changed. This is a virus where 99.99% of people under 25 are completely fine, hopefully Kevin Warren is fired soon before he can inflict more damage on the conference.
 
Sorry to hear that . Even though they are rivals, don’t wish that on anyone. Hope he is better soon!
 
I really hope Joe's Place doesn't frequent this board. If so expect stupid graphs and a random example of a young person being sick.
I have a 21 year old nephew who is currently in the ICU with Covid. His 34 year old brother was in the ICU for 10 days, just got home but is still extremely compromised. I know older people are most at risk but PLEASE don't say because they are young they are not at risk.
 
The 21 days was likely a concession to the schools that want to live in basement until there is a vaccine.

big ten is taking a huge hit on this from a future recruiting standpoint. Especially if teams lose games.
 
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I have a 21 year old nephew who is currently in the ICU with Covid. His 34 year old brother was in the ICU for 10 days, just got home but is still extremely compromised. I know older people are most at risk but PLEASE don't say because they are young they are not at risk.

Sorry to hear, Suterman. I hope they both pull through and don't have any long-term effects.
 
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if 5% of the team and 7.5% of the program population (players, coaches, support staff, trainers, etc) Test positive then the program gets shut down. It’s a joke and with these stupid rules the conference‘s return is destined to fail unless they are changed. This is a virus where 99.99% of people under 25 are completely fine, hopefully Kevin Warren is fired soon before he can inflict more damage on the conference.
So what you're saying is that if Mertz is in the .01 % and dies from it, your ok with that. Really, are you?
 
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Wisconsin coach stays mum on QB Mertz with Huskers up next

By STEVE MEGARGEE
Associated Press
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — 5:39PM

Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst isn’t discussing quarterback Graham Mertz’s status following reports that the redshirt freshman has tested positive for COVID-19.

“I will not, cannot and should not therefore comment about anything dealing with our testing and coronavirus,” Chryst said Monday.

Chryst did say he was confident the ninth-ranked Badgers’ game Saturday at Nebraska (0-1) would go on as scheduled.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal both reported that Mertz had tested positive. The Journal-Sentinel reported Mertz’s positive test came Saturday, one day after the Badgers’ 45-7 season-opening home victory over Illinois.

Both papers reported that Mertz would be undergoing a second test to determine if the first result was a false positive.

Big Ten protocols say that athletes who test positive through point-of-contact daily testing must take a polymerase chain reaction test to confirm the first result. If that second test confirms a positive result, the athlete can’t play again for at least 21 days.

Chryst said he has no problem with the Big Ten’s 21-day policy, which is more stringent than those of most conferences regarding players who test positive. Wisconsin (1-0) visits Nebraska, hosts Purdue and travels to No. 13 Michigan in its next three games.

“The No. 1 concern for the league, and I appreciate this, was how do we best keep everyone as safe as possible regarding the virus, and then how do you manage the impacts of it when someone has it,” Chryst said. “Admittedly, they told us it was more conservative, and if that helps one person, then that’s a good thing for us. We’ve known that there was a lot of work that went through this. For us to play, if that is something that’s in the best interest of everyone involved, then I completely support it.”

Wisconsin issued a statement Sunday night saying that no players, coaches or staffers tested positive or showed any symptoms before Friday’s game. School officials said they wouldn’t release any testing information regarding individual athletes due to privacy concerns.

An athlete who tests positive must undergo comprehensive cardiac testing and then receive clearance from a cardiologist designated by the university before returning to action.

Mertz made his first career start Friday and set a school record for completion percentage and matched a school record for touchdown passes in a game with five. He went 20 of 21 for 248 yards.

Nebraska coach Scott Frost said Mertz's situation wouldn't necessarily impact how the Cornhuskers approach this game.

“I don’t think it will change anything for us," Frost said. “Whether he plays or not, they’ve got a lot of really good players and they’re a really good team. I don’t think their offense would change even if he wasn’t playing. He obviously had a good debut. Hope he’s doing OK.”

Mertz was playing because returning starter Jack Coan underwent surgery on his right foot Oct. 6, leaving him out indefinitely. Wisconsin’s only other scholarship quarterbacks are sophomore Chase Wolf and junior Danny Vanden Boom.

Wolf entered the Illinois game late in the fourth quarter but didn’t attempt a pass. He played one game last year and completed his only pass for 2 yards.

“It doesn’t matter what position, as long as I’ve been a part of football, there’s opportunities that come,” Chryst said. “We saw it with Jack getting hurt, right? It’s no different at any other position. Obviously this year there’s some things that will be unique. Hopefully it’s unique just to this year.”

 
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