Southern Miss football coach Scotty Walden has tested positive for COVID-19
Southern Miss interim football coach Scotty Walden tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning, putting his status up in the air for Saturday’s game at Liberty, USM announced on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Walden left the Duff Athletic Center on Tuesday morning to self-isolate at his home after a positive antigen test came back positive for the coronavirus.
USM says that Walden will take a PCR test on Wednesday to confirm the his status. The PCR test detects the virus’s genetic material and is more exact. The antigen tests detect specific proteins on the surface of the virus.
For the time being, Walden will over see the team’s activities remotely from home.
“Earlier this morning I tested positive for COVID-19,” Walden said in a statement. “I am fine and have mild to no symptoms. I am quarantining back home until it is safe to rejoin the team.
“I want to thank Golden Eagle Nation for all of their support for our program during this difficult period. I want to thank our players and staff for continuing to be incredibly resilient during such an unstable time.
“Our team will continue to work diligently in preparation for our game this Saturday against Liberty.”
USM has had its last two games postponed due to COVID-19. The Oct. 10 home game against Florida Atlantic was pushed back because of cases on the FAU roster. The Oct. 17 road contest at UTEP was postponed following a surge of cases among USM players.
Walden was named USM’s interim coach after Jay Hopson resigned following a season-opening loss to South Alabama.
Saturday’s game at Liberty is scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m. and be shown on ESPN3.com.
Earlier this week, Gov. Tate Reeves returned a mask mandate and other restrictions to Hattiesburg’s Forrest County and eight other counties.
Both he and State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs mentioned increasing cases at USM. Dobbs said the campus plan for preventing coronavirus is “fantastic,” but “it’s off-campus, unstructured social stuff that’s driving (the increase).”
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
