Cal Football Player Tests Positive for Covid-19 Before Oregon State Game

Several student-athletes now in quarantine because of contact tracing requirements

California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., is home to the California Golden Bears.

An unnamed California football player has tested positive for Covid-19, according to the university.

“One member of the Cal football program has tested positive for Covid-19 through his regularly scheduled PCR test. As a result of contact tracing, several student-athletes have been placed in quarantine,” California said in a prepared statement Saturday morning.

California confirmed the following players on the latest depth chart are unavailable for Saturday’s game against the Oregon State Beavers: nose guard Stanley McKenzie, offensive lineman Will Craig, Jake Curhan and Valentino Daltoso; outside linebacker Braxten Croteau, running back Christopher Brown, Jr.; and tight end Collin Moore.

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Players not available for today’s game at Oregon State who are on the depth chart are OL Will Craig, OL Jake Curhan, OL Valentino Daltoso, TE Collin Moore, OLB Braxten Croteau, RB Christopher Brown Jr. and NG Stanley McKenzie.

Despite the unavailable players, California says it plans to play Oregon State at 12:30 p.m. PT as scheduled on Saturday, but some Golden Bears are unavailable because of contact tracing protocols intended to limit the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Golden Bears traveled to Corvallis, Ore., with no incidents on Friday.

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📍 Oregon

Since California started testing student-athletes in June, the university has conducted 4,671 PCR tests, considered the most accurate form of testing for Covid-19, among all student-athletes who have returned to campus for practice or competition through Nov. 15. The university said it has only had 22 positive results, with two positives from football players since daily Covid-19 testing began in early October.

The Pac-12 Conference requires once a week PCR testing for student-athletes and PCR tests after any positive antigen “rapid results” test. The conference’s health and safety protocols also require a cardiac workup for any confirmed positive test result.