Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst isn’t discussing quarterback Graham Mertz’s status following reports that the redshirt freshman has tested positive for COVID-19.
“I will not, cannot and should not, therefore, comment about anything dealing with our testing and coronavirus,” Chryst said Monday.
Chryst did say he was confident the ninth-ranked Badgers’ game Saturday at Nebraska (0-1) would go on as scheduled.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal both reported that Mertz had tested positive. The Journal-Sentinel reported Mertz’s positive test came Saturday, one day after the Badgers’ 45-7 season-opening home victory over Illinois.
Both papers reported that Mertz would be undergoing a second test to determine if the first result was a false positive.
Big Ten protocols say that athletes who test positive through point-of-contact daily testing must take a polymerase chain reaction test to confirm the first result. If that second test confirms a positive result, the athlete can’t play again for at least 21 days.
Chryst said he has no problem with the Big Ten’s 21-day policy, which is more stringent than those of most conferences regarding players who test positive. Wisconsin (1-0) visits Nebraska, hosts Purdue and travels to No. 13 Michigan in its next three games.
“The No. 1 concern for the league, and I appreciate this, was how do we best keep everyone as safe as possible regarding the virus, and then how do you manage the impacts of it when someone has it,” Chryst said. “Admittedly, they told us it was more conservative, and if that helps one person, then that’s a good thing for us. We’ve known that there was a lot of work that went through this. For us to play, if that is something that’s in the best interest of everyone involved, then I completely support it.”
