Lineman talks latest on ACC COVID protocols, his own hospitalization due to COVID

Howard was hospitalized this spring after a bout with COVID-19.

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Sat Jul 17 12:24:20 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson redshirt freshman offensive lineman Trent Howard knows full well the effects of COVID-19.

Howard was hospitalized this spring for a few days and went over 20 pounds under his listed weight after a bout with COVID-19 that also became strep throat and mono, he told the Rick and Bubba podcast recently.

The Birmingham native missed time in spring practice and has had to work this offseason to put that weight back on. He said he had his COVID-19 vaccine in May.

Howard says that the ACC has set an 85% threshold for players and staff to meet when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines and teams being able to shed different COVID-19 protocols put in place over the last year.

He did not say if the team had met that standard as of yet.

"There's just a lot of guys on the team who haven't gotten their vaccine, and who am I to tell them not to (do that)," Howard said. "I can definitely see both sides. I actually went ahead and got mine in May because I don't want to hear it. Whatever. I'll just be done with it. And if you're not vaccinated, you still have to go up there and test weekly...The main thing is the 85 percent. They're really pushing us to get to that. Since I'm vaccinated, my roommate was to test positive -- I don't have to quarantine.

"So if we were on the road and tested positive or he tested positive, neither one of us have to quarantine and miss the game. But if you're not vaccinated, you have to do the quarantine procedure."

Howard says no one at Clemson is making players get vaccinated, but it can be way to reach the ultimate on-field goals without some extra barriers.

"You can't make (a player) get vaccinated. You can only give them the information that they need," he said. "Our team goal is obviously to win the national championship this year and we didn't have the vaccine last year. This year we have the vaccine and they're really pushing us to go ahead and get it so we don't have to deal with this stuff down the road and in the playoffs and all that."