TAMPA, FL. - USF Football is ready to play. 

That’s due to preparation in the age of COVID-19. While the football team is busy on the field, the experts at USF Health are busy working on their turf – the laboratory.

“We could not wait for the commercial labs to come back in three to seven days,” said Dr. Kevin B. Sneed, Dean and professor at USF Taneja College of Pharmacy.  “Lately we have been able to get results back in about five hours.”

That test-return time has been critical to help USF move forward in pursuit of a fall season.

“It’s kind of like ‘play with your strengths’,” said USF head coach Jeff Scott. “One of the advantages that we do have is we have USF Health in our backyard.”

“It’s been really critical because if we have encountered anyone who has been positive then we would be able to isolate them much quicker than if we had to wait three, five or seven days,” said Sneed, who has helped all of USF Athletics with testing protocols and procedures.

The Bulls have been receiving tests at least once a week since returning to campus in June. One convenience is performing the COVID-19 tests with players right on the practice field. It has given the players a sense of comfort with each negative result. 

“Our players feel pretty strong about it and we know that they are not going to put us in harm’s way,” said USF senior DB KJ Sails. “The coach and the staff have been very honest with us and that’s all we can ask for. So, we are blessed from that standpoint.”

The type of testing being performed on the team is known as a Nare test.

“It’s not going all the way to the back of the nose as many people experienced,” said Sneed. “We are very quickly shifting into getting our protocols together for saliva testing and we expect to get that up and running really any day now.”

“The trust level that our medical staff and doctors have for the testing, it gives myself confidence, as a coach, to stand in front of my team and say that I do feel it is safe for us to continue,” said Scott, who has been adamant about consistent COVID-19 tests.

Testing is half the battle against COVID-19. While social distancing and masks at all times is impossible in football, USF Health is continuing to fine-tune protocols that can lead to more game days and less postponements.

“To be able to get that information back to them in a very timely manner allows them to really focus on the things that we want them to focus on as student-athletes,” Sneed said.

USF Health has become the most important teammate for USF athletics. As the Bulls’ football team looks for wins this fall, the Bulls’ medical team will continue to find its own victories in the fight to defeat COVID-19. 

“We really do feel like we are kind of leading the way,” said Sneed.