Arkansas State head coach says he's recovered from covid

Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson is shown in this Jan. 9, 2019, file photo.
Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson is shown in this Jan. 9, 2019, file photo.

Arkansas State University head coach Blake Anderson announced Monday he tested positive for covid-19 on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and was sick for 10 days.

Anderson said he is now recovered and back to coaching, after the Red Wolves had to postpone consecutive games against University of Central Arkansas on Sept. 19 and Tulsa on Sept. 26.

Anderson's positive test came just three days after beating Kansas State and four days before its scheduled game with UCA. The week leading into the UCA game, Anderson began feeling sick on Monday and did not attend his weekly press conference on Sept. 14.

The UCA game was then postponed on Tuesday, with ASU stating it was unable to field a team safely because of a depleted position group. Anderson said this week that had the UCA game been played, he would not have been able to coach it.

"I tested positive and ran a fever for 10 days," Anderson said. "And I know that's going to take a lot of people by surprise, I didn't announce it like Mike Norvell did, but at the time there were a lot of other things going on and we knew we weren't going to be playing."

Anderson joins Florida State head coach Mike Norvell as the only two head coaches in college football to publicly announce they have tested positive for covid-19.

Anderson said as for his team, multiple players have been symptomatic the last two weeks, which is what prompted the postponements. This week, Anderson said his team is beginning to recover and feel "stronger" than before the Kansas State game.

Arkansas State is set to play at Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 11 a.m., barring anymore covid-19 issues.

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