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The University of Hawaii football team’s spring training went from “pause” to “play.”
A week after pausing team-related activities because of eight coronavirus cases, the Rainbow Warriors were back on the field, practicing for two hours on Wednesday.
Last week, UH officials announced that spring training would be put on hold after two players tested positive on March 31, one on April 5, and five on April 6.
At the recommendation of the Hawaii Department of Health, the eight players and 73 teammates were quarantined while their conditions were monitored. Football coaches, weight-training staff and equipment managers who did not receive the vaccination also were quarantined. The program’s medical staff, trainers and several coaches, including head coach Todd Graham, were vaccinated and exempt from quarantine.
The initial testing schedule for spring training called for COVID-19 tests to be administered each Tuesday. UH did not report any new positive results. The 81 players were released from isolation on Tuesday night, according to a UH spokesman.
The NCAA permits Division I football teams to conduct 15 spring practices in a 34-day window. The Warriors were scheduled to end spring training on April 23. By making up the four postponed practices, spring training now is set to end on April 29, the spokesman said.
Because of pandemic restrictions, no spring festivities are planned for the final practice.
These are the first UH spring practices under Graham, who was hired in January 2020. Last year’s spring training was canceled because of the pandemic. The Warriors were the only Mountain West team not to have a 2020 game canceled or postponed because of coronavirus-related circumstances. This year, the Warriors went through 10 weeks of strength/conditioning drills without interruption.