Testing protocol errors by the Pac-12 kept senior quarterback Davis Mills, senior wide receiver Connor Wedington and junior defensive end Trey LaBounty out of the season opener against Oregon. All three, and a fourth individual who did not make the trip, will now be eligible to play against Colorado. 

“We apologize to the Stanford football team and its supporters, and especially to the student-athletes who were held out of the game as a result of the testing protocol errors,” the Pac-12 wrote in a statement. “We are working with our game day testing partner to ensure this type of error does not occur in the future.”

According to a Stanford Athletics statement, multiple confirmatory PCR tests have been conducted on the affected person since the initial inconclusive results, and all have been negative. 

Still, that player has been in isolation since receiving the test results and the other three players that were considered high-risk contacts have been in quarantine. On Thursday, head coach David Shaw ’95 indicated that if he received clarification by Friday, all four players would be able to participate in the “Fast Friday” walkthrough in Stanford Stadium and available to play on Saturday. 

Current Santa Clara County protocols for an asymptomatic case consider as a contact anyone who has spent 15 or more cumulative minutes within six feet of the infected individual starting two days before the test. 

“Due to the procedural errors and the subsequent series of negative confirmatory PCR tests, Saturday’s inconclusive tests results have been deemed invalid by team doctors, doctors unaffiliated with Stanford Athletics, and the Pac-12 Medical Advisory Committee,” read the Stanford Athletics statement.

Despite chaos across the conference, Stanford will have its starting quarterback available on Saturday against Colorado. 

Contact Daniel Martinez-Krams at danielmk ‘at’ stanford.edu.