By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

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Where South Carolina’s SEC, ACC and SoCon programs stand.

By Ian Basha

As COVID-19 continues to plague schools with uncertainty about whether the collegiate football season will happen, many programs are sticking to their planned schedules. Despite concerns over rising cases of the coronavirus, some even affecting the athletes themselves, schools returned to the field on Monday for mandatory workouts. Among these schools were South Carolina and Clemson. Yet as the larger schools in South Carolina return to the field, there are still larger decisions to be made for smaller schools in the state.

Furman Paladins — Furman officials have not yet mentioned whether mandatory workouts will continue as scheduled. Furman is part of the Southern Conference, which has yet to state any intention of restricting out-of-conference games.

South Carolina Gamecocks — As South Carolina athletes returned this Monday, officials have allotted eight hours of mandatory meetings per week, with two of those being for film review. The other six have been allotted for workouts, which adhere to social distancing guidelines. Workouts are only for strength and conditioning, with some field work and only a few players are included in each workout group. South Carolina has not released any numbers as to whether any players or staff tested positive for COVID-19, but continue to await the looming decision of the football season.

The Citadel Bulldogs — Despite cancelling voluntary workouts in late June, the Citadel football team has not discussed whether mandatory workouts will be cancelled as well. The military college previously cancelled the workouts after stating 13 athletes had tested positive for COVID-19, some of which were confirmed to be football players. Officials also disclosed some of those athletes were on campus around the time they tested positive which led to the shutdown. However, The Citadelxe2x80x99s athletic director Mike Capaccio has stated the team intends to play their full 11-game season, meaning workouts could likely resume soon.

Clemson Tigers — While South Carolina returned Monday and instituted mandatory hours, Clemson decided not to do so upon their return to practice. The university has chosen to adhere to strict social distancing guidelines, only offering workouts and not full practices. Each workout is for a small group of players with select staff members, as some had previously been diagnosed with the virus. Clemson has disclosed that at least 37 football players had tested positive for COVID-19, as well as six staff members. While those players are likely quarantined, Clemson has already stated they have no intention of delaying their workout schedule.