Vanderbilt football officially resumed practice on Wednesday after an unspecified number of positive COVID-19 tests forced the university to suspend all football activities last Friday.
Derek Mason tweeted on Wednesday at 7:11 a.m. CT, “Work out Wednesday has begun… 5:45 a.m. weights – Done! Class work to Grass work … We’re back.”
A spokesperson for Vanderbilt athletics confirmed that Mason’s tweet meant that the Commodores were resuming practice.
On Aug. 20, The Hustler learned that multiple football players had tested positive for COVID-19. The following day, Vanderbilt announced it would pause all football activities; the athletic department cancelled Friday’s practice and moved an unspecified number of students into isolation housing. It remains unclear whether those students are still in isolation housing.
The “small number of positive COVID-19 test results” in both football and lacrosse are among the 16 positive tests (12 off campus, four on campus) that Vanderbilt reported on Aug. 24.
Wednesday also marks the start of linebacker Dimitri Moore’s season. After opting out of the 2020 football season on Aug. 15 due to COVID-19 concerns, the Commodores’ leading tackler in 2019 announced on Instagram yesterday that he was opting back into the season.
Vanderbilt is scheduled to open the season on Sept. 26 in College Station, where they will face the 13th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
