Clemson Players Fighting To Save Season

Clemson linebacker James Skalski and quarterback Trevor Lawrence spoke with the media Friday about how the Tigers are dealing with the COVID-19 virus during fall camp.

Clemson linebacker James Skalski and his teammates are "literally fighting for their season on and off the field."

Skalski was answering a question after Friday's second practice of fall camp about the continuing COVID-19 pandemic that has already eliminated the NCAA Basketball Tournament, College World Series and is now threatening fall collegiate athletics.

Earlier this week, the University of Connecticut announced it would cancel its 2020 football season while the NCAA announced Division II and III fall championships would not occur.

"If you're a leader, people will follow," Skalski said. "One thing we do around (Clemson) is walk the walk and talk the talk. It's about doing the right thing all the time, staying disciplined and not getting distracted."

The questions came about after the announcement Thursday that teammate Xavier Thomas would miss a majority of the season after contracting COVID-19 earlier this year, followed by strep throat that has left him unable to play when the season starts Sept. 12.

Student-athletes were able to return to Clemson on June 1. According to a July 10 press release from the Clemson Athletic Department, 53 student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 since that date. That a 7.3 percent test rate.

A Clemson spokesperson stated in the release that there have been no hospitalizations related to COVID-19 for any individual within Clemson Athletics, and more than half of the positive cases have been asymptomatic.

The largest spike of infections happened the week of June 26 when 14 football players tested positive. That drove the total number to 37 for the month.

"Internally we were in a good spot," Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence said Friday. "Obviously, that's not something you ever want, to have a spike like that, but I think we were doing as good a job as we could. It's something that no one's ever experienced, but we know a lot more now and we're doing a better job of keeping everyone safe."

Clemson has scheduled to start the fall semester online beginning Aug. 19, but in-person learning is expected to begin Sept. 21. Lawrence was asked if the team has a plan in place when students and faculty return to campus.

"That will be another challenge," Lawrence said. "I'm not really sure how that's gonna go. I know they will have some online options, and I will look into that for sure. I'm just trying to keep myself and family safe. I can't control anything else."

Lawrence said the team has witnessed how fast the virus can spread, and have made adjustments to their daily routines.

"The guys on the team have learned, you know, on weekends and days off you can't just go out and be around a bunch of new people," Lawrence said. "You have to protect each other. I think it's all part of the learning curve."