USC is cleared to resume workouts Tuesday as the team prepares for Sunday’s game against Washington State.
Coach Clay Helton said USC’s latest round of COVID-19 tests all came back negative. The Washington State game was moved from Friday to Sunday, which allows both teams to get players back from coronavirus-related quarantine.
“It allows us to garner the adequate number of players we need at a certain position to be able to play this game,” Helton said. “We’re very thankful to the league and both universities to allow us to move the game back to Sunday.”
USC canceled last Saturday’s game against Colorado because of COVID-19 issues within the program. The 18th-ranked Trojans (3-0) had four players test positive and seven others quarantined because of contact tracing. USC has been unable to conduct on-field activities for seven of the past nine days.
Washington State canceled last week’s Apple Cup game against Washington because of COVID-19 issues within its program.
Helton said USC will conduct additional walk-throughs and other adjustments to practice because of player availability, saying, “It will not be a normal practice week for us.” The Trojans will not have to make position changes to safely play the game, Helton added.
Trojans starting inside linebacker Palaie Gaoteote remains in the concussion protocol after being injured during USC’s Nov. 14 game against Arizona.