Florida State coach Mike Norvell announced Saturday he has tested positive for the coronavirus and is isolating, leaving deputy head coach Chris Thomsen as interim coach while Norvell is away.
In a statement, Norvell said he tested positive during the team's most recent round of testing Friday and is feeling fine. His wife and daughter were tested on Saturday and received negative results but are quarantining.
With Norvell in isolation, Thomsen will handle in-person and head-coaching duties until Norvell is able to return. Florida State is off this week and travels to play rival Miami next Saturday. Norvell will not travel to Miami, and Florida State said that game remains as scheduled.
"My result was surprising to me, but we have prepared for a potential positive result among anyone in our program and we will put that plan in place while I am away," Norvell said. "I will remain involved remotely as much as possible to help our team continue to prepare. ... I'm grateful to the administration, players and staff for their commitment to the protocols we have in place, which have helped us limit contact with others and allowed us to continue moving forward."
Thomsen, who has 24 years of collegiate coaching experience, was the head coach at Abilene Christian from 2005 to 2011. He spent the past three years coaching the offensive line at TCU.
The ACC requires testing a minimum of three times a week. CDC guidelines state that anyone with COVID-19 must isolate for at least 10 days and until at least 24 hours have passed since recovery. Norvell must receive medical clearance before being allowed to return, though coaches and staff are not subject to the battery of heart tests that are required of players to be able to return.
"This is unfortunate, but luckily Coach is feeling fine," athletic director David Coburn said. "We are proceeding with our COVID protocols as we would with any other case. Coach is isolated, and university tracing staff is handling the contact tracing as they normally do. We will continue to test staff and student-athletes as we have been. We have communicated with [ACC] commissioner John Swofford and Miami athletic director Blake James. At this point, based on our testing this week, we have no reason to believe that the Miami game is in jeopardy."
Last month, three receivers -- including standout Tamorrion Terry -- publicly spoke out about a lack of transparency in coronavirus testing.
D.J. Matthews tweeted that he had tested positive before deleting the tweet, then posted another tweet in which he hinted at lies within the program. Matthews has since entered the transfer portal.
Warren Thompson wrote an open letter to Florida State at the time. In it, he said he was lied to about testing and health protocols on multiple occasions. Norvell defended himself in the aftermath, saying he had been "very transparent" with every player he has talked to. He also said he had spoken with Thompson and they were "moving forward together."
Players also came to Norvell's defense, saying they felt safe at the school.
Florida State has not released any testing numbers since players returned in June. Its release of Norvell's positive test is the first time the school has publicly acknowledged any positives.