Category Archives: Progress

Photographer: Rawpixel/Getty Images

Photographer: Rawpixel/Getty Images

Covid-19 could roll back gains in womens economic opportunities after 30 years of progress, the International Monetary Fund said.

Women are especially vulnerable to the negative economic effects of the pandemic because they are are more likely to work in industries that are sensitive to lockdowns and tend to be employed in the informal sector in low-income countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and others said in a blog published Tuesday. Females often do more unpaid housework than men, and are more at risk of dropping out of school in developing countries due to Covid-19, they said.

In the U.S., the unemployment rate for working-age women was 1.1 percentage points above the reading for men in June, compared to a typically equal rate before the pandemic and resulting recession, according to data from the Department of Labor.

It is crucial that policy makers adopt measures to limit the scarring effects of the pandemic on women, they said. These policies could include extending income support to the vulnerable and improved access to health care -- and over the long term, creating conditions and incentives for women to work.

The post referenced existing policies to address womens economic situation, including a right to partially paid leave for parents with children below a certain age, a coalition to increase womens economic participation and a grant program for informal workers. Austria, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, France, Latin America and Togo have each instituted some of these measures.

These policies are not only crucial to lift constraints on womens economic empowerment, they are necessary to promote an inclusive post-Covid-19 recovery, the fund said.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Covid-19 Threatens to Undo Womens Economic Progress, IMF Says - Bloomberg

Moleculin Biotech (MBRX) - Get Reportshares on Tuesday jumped after the drugmaker said a second round of independent lab testing confirmed antiviral activity of its drug candidate, WP1122, as a treatment for coronavirus.

Shares of the Houston company at last check were 31% higher at $1.44.

The lab involved was IIT Research Institute, an affiliate of the Illinois Institute of Technology, which conducted additional in vitro testing ofWP1122, Moleculin said in a statement.

Importantly, the company said, the growth medium, which is designed to support the growth of cells or microorganisms, in this assaywas chosen to reflect the levels of glucose normally found in humans rather than the artificially high levels of glucose often used to speed up in vitro testing.

Based on feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Moleculin said itbelieves it may need to demonstrate activity in a covid-19 animal model to successfully submit a request for Investigational New Drug status for WP1122.

"Having validation in yet another virus host cell line provides additional confidence in the antiviral activity we are seeing,"Walter Klemp, chairman and CEO of Moleculin, said in a statement. "Also, using a different independent lab from the last testing that was done provides further validation."

Klemp added that "we are also gaining confidence that in vitro testing results for this class of compounds are significantly affected by the concentration of natural glucose in the microenvironment present during viral replication and continued infection."

"We are also testing other compounds in the portfolio against SARS-CoV-2 and other life-threatening viruses," Klemp said.

"We believe WP1122 is promising, but we also don't want to overlook additional opportunities to potentially provide new and better solutions to other viral diseases."

Read the rest here:

Moleculin Shares Jump on Progress With Virus-Drug Candidate - TheStreet

The Lions need to make a ton of progress in 2020 in order to make a significant improvement in the win-loss column from 2019.

It goes without mentioning that last season was not a good one for the organization.

Detroit, in its second year with Matt Patricia as its head coach, experienced a hugely dismal 3-12-1 campaign that resulted in a last-place finish in the NFC North.

Subsequently, the ship in Motown needs to be turned around quickly in order for Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn to survive past this upcoming season.

If they are to return in 2021, here are four signs of progress that need to be on display this fall:

1.) Cut down on the penalties

Patricia & Co. were called for seven or more penalties each week from Weeks 1-8 of the 2019 campaign.

His team also committed at least five penalties on a weekly basis from Weeks 9-13.

The Lions' Week 14 tilt with the NFC North divisional rival Vikings ended up being the first contest of the year in which four or less penalties were committed by the franchise.

The feat was accomplished again the following week against the Buccaneers (two penalties) and in Week 17 against the Packers (four penalties).

A total of 113 penalties and 900-plus yards of negative yardage (937) was racked up by the organization a year ago.

In a year of many shortcomings, this was a major one.

Patricia needs to get his team to cut down on the penalties and to play more disciplined football in 2020.

2.) Players staying healthy

No doubt, this was an issue last year.

The first guy whose health comes to mind is that of franchise passer Matthew Stafford's.

He played in only eight games in 2019, suffering a back injury in Week 9 against the Oakland Raiders.

Once he went down, the Lions went intoa tailspin. In fact, they lost their remaining eight games.

Stafford, who's entering his 12th year in the NFL, needs to stay healthy for the entirety of the upcoming season in order for the Lions to even have a shot at qualifying for the playoffs.

It'd also be nice to see the franchise's incumbent No. 1 running back Kerryon Johnson stay healthy for a full season for the first time in his career.

Johnson, who's entering his third year as a pro, played in just eight games a year ago, and suited up for only 10 as a rookie in 2018.

The health of both Stafford and Johnson is an integral element to the Lions being a competitive team on a week-to-week basis in 2020.

3.) Develop and sustain an effective ground game

This will be a paramount ingredient to the Lions having a more balanced attack in offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell's second year of calling plays for the franchise.

With Johnson as the lead back last season, Detroit rushed for a total of 1,649 yards and seven touchdowns -- good for 21st and 29th in the league, respectively.

D'Andre Swift has since been added to the backfield, via the 2020 NFL Draft. Quinn & Co. took him in the second round (No. 35 overall) out of Georgia.

His presence should allow Johnson's legs to maintain freshness as the season progresses, and hopefully, will lead to Johnson remaining healthy for the entire '20 campaign.

If so, Johnson and Swift have a legitimate shot at forming a very impactful 1-2 punch at running back -- and for many years to come.

4.) Give up less points in the fourth quarter

Here's another must for the franchise, as it gets ready to head into a new campaign and new decade.

Patricia's "bend-but-don't-break" defensive philosophy was far from effective a season ago.

His defense allowed the 26th-most points per game at 26.4. And a good amount of those points scored by opponents came in the fourth quarter.

In fact, the Lions allowed a total of 17 touchdowns in the fourth quarter -- the most TDs surrendered by the organization in a single quarter in 2019.

On top of that, the defense was hugely ineffective when Detroit was leading with less than 2:30 to go in regulation. In those late-game situations, it allowed the opposition to score four touchdowns.

Most notably, it permitted Kansas City to score with 23 seconds to play in Week 4, which gave Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs the 34-30 victory.

It was a microcosm of the defense's struggles the entire season.

And subsequently, the onus is now on Patricia to ensure that those fourth-quarter woes don't flare uponceagain in 2020.

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Original post:

4 Signs of Progress Needed from the Lions in 2020 - Sports Illustrated

A microscope showing blood cells. The global recession will put pressure on already strained health care budgets, and governments will continue to look for cost savings, bringing clinical trials in rare diseases to a pause.

Photo: Unsplash

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The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic presents a potential risk to the future of clinical trials in rare diseases. Rare diseases by their nature are not very prevalent in the population, therefore, any treatment for a rare disease will only have a small number of beneficiaries.

In addition, so-called orphan drug development takes around 18% longer from first patent filing to product launch than the average time required for all new drugs. As such, the pricing models around rare disease treatments have always been a challenge for the pharmaceutical sector, and COVID-19 has exacerbated this problem.

Clinical trials are the engine room that powers companies ability to deliver new treatment options to patients. Clinical trials in rare diseases are funded by pharmaceutical companies, investors, the public sector and patient organizations themselves. COVID-19 will have a financial impact on all of these groups, and prioritizing areas for funding will entail difficult decision-making.

The global recession will put further pressure on already strained health care budgets, and governments will continue to look for cost savings. This means the price of pharmaceuticals will also be scrutinized. Companies will be looking at the potential return on investment of conducting research in this space and weighing the likelihood of reimbursement from government payers. For the same reasons, they might also struggle to secure external funding, for example, from venture capitalists.

Smaller companies may decide that it is not worth the investment risk. This, in turn, could mean that we see a concentration of rare disease research being done by the larger pharmaceutical companies, which can offset losses from other parts of their business or portfolio, rather than the existing diverse range of biotechs who are leading in this sector.

A significant amount of COVID-19 research funding has been delivered by governments and supranational organizations, such as the European Commission, which inevitably means that there will be less research funding available for other diseases. The focus on COVID-related research doesnt seem to be slowing, and until we get a vaccine or a treatment, this might not change.

Patient organizations are another source of funding for clinical trials, particularly in rare diseases, where conditions are often inherited or affect the very young. A great example of this can be seen in alkaptonuria, a rare genetic metabolic disorder characterized by the accumulation of homogentisic acid in the body. This causes damage to cartilage and heart valves, as well as precipitating as kidney stones and stones in other organs.

The Alkaptonuria Society initiated the DevelopAKUre program, a series of major international clinical trials run by a consortium of 12 European partners. It studied the effectiveness of a drug called nitisinone, in treating AKU. The DevelopAKUre clinical trials finished in 2019, and the company that makes the drug is currently awaiting a decision from the European Medicines Agency on a licence for the treatment of alkaptonuria.

However, many charities and patient organizations are deferring upcoming grant rounds and withdrawing future trial funding, due to uncertainty of incomes. These organizations have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, which has triggered reduced capacity for fundraising, coupled with a surge in demand for their services from patients who are looking for guidance and support to help them through the crisis. It is unlikely that these organizations will be able to prioritize clinical trials at this time.

There have been specific proposals brought forward to support and quicken COVID-related research. On June 17, 2020, the European Commission presented a European strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing and deployment of vaccines against COVID-19.

Part of this strategy adapts the EUs regulatory framework to the current urgency and makes use of existing regulatory flexibility to accelerate this development, while maintaining the standards for vaccine quality, safety and efficacy. This could be good news for research and development in rare diseases.

The same arguments used in rare diseases, which focus on the need for urgency in getting new treatments approved and to patients, are now reflected in the response to the pandemic. If some of these approaches become permanent changes in the way clinical trials are conducted in the EU, clinical trials could be sped up and some of the risk transferred from industry to public authorities. This would be in return for assuring member states of equitable and affordable access to treatments.

Additionally, there are treatments for rare diseases being tested to see if they could have a benefit in the management of COVID-19. This could also help in our longer-term understanding of some of these treatments and therefore speed up their availability in rare diseases.

In the short term, the impact of COVID-19 will likely be a reduction in innovation in the rare disease space. The diversity of companies playing in this area will reduce, with research concentrated in the larger companies who can afford to take the risk.

In normal times, this would spur action from charities and organizations to set up clinical trials because of personal experience, but their capacity to do this presently is limited.

However, the indirect impact of COVID-19 may result in longer-term positives for the rare disease sector, addressing some of the shortcomings of clinical trial setup that have long held back innovation in the area.

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COVID-19 Is Threatening the Progress of Clinical Trials - BRINK

July 20, 2020

RALEIGH On Saturday night, Jennifer Clapton stood in a brightly lit bowling alley, watching her autistic, 22-year-old son laugh. He threw ball after ball down the shining, wooden lane, shouting with glee each time he hit the pins.

It was the last night he would bowl. For awhile, anyway.

Clapton fought tears.

In Roanoke Rapids, a struggling small town alongside Interstate 95 in northeastern North Carolina, theres not much to do, or so Clapton will tell you. But in March 2019, locals Elizabeth and Timothy Robinson bought Fairwood Lanes, a rundown bowling alley on Old Farm Road. The Robinsons turned it into a gathering spot for the community. They visited 65 bowling alleys around the country, gathering ideas. They handpicked every table, decoration, kitchen appliance, and bowling machine. They opened a restaurant Misfits Bar and Grill where neighbors gather for pizza, steak tips, beer, and even craft cocktails. They launched a Superheroes Bowling League for special-needs people like Claptons son, Jordan.

It brought joy to Roanoke Rapids, Clapton told Carolina Journal, turning from her son so he wouldnt see her cry. It brought friends for Jordan. It brought support for her family.

Now, with a recent order from the N.C. Supreme Court, its all unraveling. Fairwood Lanes closed its doors at midnight on Saturday. The Robinsons are uncertain when theyll reopen.

North Carolina bowling alleys, which sued Gov. Roy Cooper in June over his prolonged COVID-19 shutdown, won an initial victory July 7 when Judge James Gale allowed them to reopen. The Robinsons rejoiced. But, one week later, the N.C. Supreme Court ordered bowling alleys to close again while it reviewed an appeal from Cooper. Democrats hold a 6-1 majority on the states highest court, with the chief justice and one associate justice appointed by Cooper. This means the Democratic governor is unlikely to face partisan opposition from the Supreme Court.

For people like Clapton and the Robinsons who live and work nearly 100 miles from Raleigh the effects of that power isnt political. Its personal.

I know theres a pandemic right now, Clapton said. I understand that we cant just go out and do everything. But here [Fairwood Lanes], theyve done everything to make this place safe. How is going to Walmart safe, but bringing my son bowling isnt?

Carolina Journal heard that sentiment from many at the bowling alley. Frustration over closing. Frustration over lost jobs and uncertain unemployment benefits. Frustration over the governors blanket reopening rules, and the Supreme Courts move to follow his orders.

That frustration could be turned to action in the November election, where three Supreme Court seats will be contested. Chief Justice Cheri Beasley was appointed by Cooper to fill the courts highest seat when Republican Chief Justice Mark Martin retired in February 2019. Shes running against Justice Paul Newby, the only Republican currently on the high court. Two judges from the N.C. Court of Appeals, Democrat Lucy Inman and Republican Phil Berger Jr., are racing for the Supreme Courts second seat. Republican Tamara Barringer, a former state senator, is challenging appointed incumbent Justice Mark Davis.

Concerned voters should pay attention to how individual judges vote in the bowling alley case, said Jon Guze, director of legal studies at the John Locke Foundation. The governor is trying to win the lawsuit without responding to industry safety plans. The Bowling Proprietors Association of the Carolinas and Georgia which brought the case against Cooper offered a detailed, thorough proposal for ensuring safety, Guze said. But the governor didnt bother providing evidence that bowling was risky, or that safety rules wouldnt minimize that risk.

Instead, he simply insisted that he didnt need to provide evidence or arguments because his emergency orders should be reviewed under the strict scrutiny standard and should, therefore, be presumed to be lawful, Guze said.

Review standards are important, Guze said, because, in cases where a person challenges government, courts often presume that whatever the government does is lawful unless the citizen can show that there is no conceivable rational basis for the action.

In the bowling alley case, Cooper challenged Judge Gales review, asking the Supreme Court to decide whether the judge used the wrong lens to view the case, Guze said. At its core, the issue comes down to whether judges will defer to the word of the government, or the word of the North Carolinians challenging it.

[The justices] responses to the question raised by Gov. Cooper in his request for Supreme Court review will tell us something very important about their attitudes towards constitutional rights and the rule of law, Guze said. In our free republic, everyone not just ordinary citizens, but government agents as well should have to obey the Constitution and the General Statutes.

Gale referred to a legal standard called reasonable relationship, as opposed to rational basis, in his opinion on bowling alleys. Simply put, its easier for the bowling alleys to win under the reasonable relationship standard. The Supreme Court could have allowed Gales order to stand as the case works its way through the legal process. Instead the justices accepted Coopers request to block the trial court order. That means closing bowling alleys again. And so they did.

The next step? The justices will review Coopers appeal of Judge Gales order. Cooper and the bowling alleys have until Aug. 19 to file all arguments and paperwork in the case. Its unclear whether the Supreme Court will hold a hearing, or decide the case based solely on filed arguments.

Bowling alleys were initially allowed to reopen so long as they limited risks and imposed safety measures. For business owners like the Robinsons, those measures cost thousands of dollars. They installed glass dividers and hand sanitizers between bowling lanes. Wore face masks. Cut capacity. Cleaned every surface. Again and again.

Even the shoes.

But the fight with Cooper has siphoned the last of their energy. And money.

In the colored light of the arcade machines, seated at a table by the bowling lanes, the Robinsons told CJ the whole story: about buying Fairwood Lanes, restoring it, opening doors for the first time in October 2019.

Weve poured our hearts and souls into this place, Elizabeth said.

It shows. The Robinsons can tell you about their search for the deep fryer in the kitchen, or how far they had to travel New Jersey just to find someone to fix bowling machines. They can tell you about Elizabeths hand-painted carousel horse decorations, or about the Tweety Bird print hanging on the wall in front of them. Most of all, they can tell you about the Superheroes League, about how many smiles it brings, and about the families its drawn together.

A few months ago, the Robinsons thought they would survive the COVID-19 shutdown. They did everything possible to keep 20 staffers. A handful left to collect unemployment, but most stayed on, Timothy said.

The goal was never to pick a fight with the governor, Elizabeth said. She wants to remain impartial. Do her job. Keep people safe and happy. But when the rules didnt make sense, and livelihoods were at stake, a lawsuit seemed the only solution.

Now that the lawsuit looks futile, whats the next move? CJ asked.

Shut down, send all of our employees away, and hope they come back, Timothy said.

They hope to reopen, whenever Cooper allows that. If they do, Clapton will return with her son. Until then, shell stay home. Shell try to explain to Jordan why he cant see his friends, and shell consider her November voting decision one that will affect her familys future.

Im most frustrated with Roy Cooper, she said as the lights dimmed, the music rose, and the evening crowd settled in for a final night at Fairwood Lanes. Im not even a Republican, and Im afraid hes going to make me vote that way.

See more here:

PSRC Board of Educations Finance Committee makes progress on issues related to reopening schools - The Robesonian

The NFL owners met via a conference call today to discuss the problems facing the NFL 2020 season.

Hours later there was a report that one concession players had been fighting for was agreed to, with NFL owners agreeing to daily Covid-19 testing for players.

Adam Schefter replied that the negotiations are getting closer on most issues.

While many have been skeptical that the NFL season would be able to start on time, any agreements that come out of todays meeting will make it a lot more plausible.

From the article linked:

NFL players will be tested every day for the first two weeks of training camp, Dr. Allen Sills, the leagues chief medical officer, said in a conference call, and it is expected that players will need more than one negative test before first being allowed to enter team facilities.At the two-week mark, the rate of positive tests for those tested players, coaches and staff who are in close contact with the football team will be examined and if the rate of positive tests is below 5 percent, testing will move to every other day. Training camp is set to begin for the entire league July 28.

The testing will be handled by a national lab, so the NFL testing will not affect testing availability in NFL cities.

With a testing plan in place, one of the major hurdles to getting players to report is cleared. Adam Schefter tweeted that more progress was being made.

This is good news for football fans, with MLB and NHL players already working with their teams, and actual games approaching, the NFL has little excuse for messing up the start of their season.

This article will be updated with any further breaking news from todays owners meeting, so stay tuned to BTSC as more news about the 2020 season becomes available.

UPDATE: According to NFL Networks Tom Pelissero, players would have a two-day virtual session period between two days of testing.

A website has also been provided which outlines procedures HERE

UPDATE: The NFLPA has released a statement in regards to the Covid testing protocols.

UPDATE: After it was reported the NFL has offered zero preseason games, it has been reported the next issue on hand is about players who opt out of the season.

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Major progress being made in NFL negotiations to begin the season - Behind the Steel Curtain

Trey Songz took aim at Kanye West for being "in the way of progress" after the rapper shared his controversial views on revered anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman.

During his first presidential rally in Charleston, South Carolina on Sunday, Kanye claimed former slave Tubman, who fled a plantation before returning 19 times to assist at least 70 others, did not free slaves, insisting, "She just had them work for other white people!"

Sharing a clip from the rally on his Instagram page, which features a woman saying, "Yo, we're leaving right now," following the slave comments, Trey wrote: "They been sayin man Trey need to call these n****s before he just put em online blastin.

"Ye you in the way of progress foreal (sic), how you turn this goofy from who you were? Im so confused, whoever got his number need to call him."

Trey was one of many of Kanye's musical peers to slam the star, with rapper Q-Tip also weighing in by simply posted an image of Tubman along with the caption #Hero, while Noname didn't hold back and tweeted: KEEP HARRIET TUBMAN NAME OUT YOUR F**KING MOUTH!!!!!!!

Taking to Twitter, fans slammed the rapper-turned-politician, who suffers from bipolar disorder, with The View co-host Meghan McCain writing: "Kanye West needs serious help, not media coverage."

Kanye has yet to respond to his critics on Twitter - however, he did share two sketches of the White House, with the worlds "Vision" and "The West Wing", alongside the hashtag "2020VISION".

Excerpt from:

Trey Songz slams Kanye West for standing 'in the way of progress' after controversial rally - Music News

WASHINGTON If Joe Biden is elected president in November, he will rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Sunday night.Speaking at a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, she spoke about President Donald Trump moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and withdrawing from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal.For all the progress that we made in terms of Israel in terms of the Middle East, in terms of really having a voice for America and Israel I hate the thought that if Biden comes in, all of that goes away, because theyre going to go back and try and get back into the Iran deal, Haley said.Look at the difference between Joe Biden and President Trump, she said. Who is the person that moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? Who is the person that pulled out of the Iran deal? Whos the person that allowed me to call out Hamas for the first time in the UN? She was referring to a US-led effort to condemn the terrorist organization at the General Assembly in December 2018.Are you willing to give up to Biden, whos moving closer and closer to [Rep. Ilhan] Omar and to [Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] to make his foreign-policy and domestic-policy decisions? Haley asked. Where was Biden when Resolution 2334 [in 2016 against Israeli settlements] passed? Where was Biden when Hamas was attacking Israel, and no one was doing anything? Where was Biden when we were asked to have the embassy move, and he wouldnt do it?Dont listen to what hes saying now, she said. Actions are louder than words. We have actions of two different people who have held office. We have seen the results of two different people.China is the No. 1 threat to the US, Haley said, adding that many presidents have been naive about US relations with China, including Barack Obama and his vice president, Biden. Theyve been naive to the fact that China has been on a strategic mission for a long time, she said.Trump called out Beijing for bad trade deals and intellectual-property theft, Haley said.And he did that at the same time that Biden said China was not an issue, and we should be Chinas friend... He criticized the president for doing a ban on travel with China, she said. That is who we would get as a president someone who wants to be a friend with our foes at a time where we need to be smart and hold them to account.

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Nikki Haley: 'If Biden comes in, all of the progress we made goes away' - The Jerusalem Post

Related: Fauci: 'Considerable Concern' People Won't Trust Vaccine

An experimental coronavirus vaccine out of Oxford University is showing promise on two counts.

British researchers partnering with the drug company AstraZeneca first began testing the vaccine in April in about 1,000 people, about half of whom got the experimental vaccine. In research published Monday, scientists said their experimental vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies as well as a reaction in the body's T-cells, which help fight off the virus.

The small scale test was performed mainly to determine if the vaccine is safe, but researchers say the early result is encouraging.

But despite major efforts to develop a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, recent polls show that as many as 50% of Americans would not get the vaccine.

"I certainly can understand that given the political background to this,"said Dr. John Swartzberg, infectious disease and public health expert with UC Berkeley. "Distrust comes from the distrust of the White House and all of the messages weve been getting out of the White House and theyve created such confusion."

Dr. Swartzberg saidthat there are a variety of reasons why people might hesitate to get the vaccine. Skepticism is high among Black Americans who have a history of being mistreated by the medical establishment, "specifically with the infamous Tuskegee experiments of earlier in the 20th century."

Others may not want to be first in line.

"There will be a lot of people initially reticent. But as people start to see, 'Wow this vaccine works and nobodys having any problems with it,'more and more people will get it,"he said.

But Dr. Swartzberg does not anticipate that this will create a major barrier to slowing the spread of the virus, as the low demand could match the initial low supply. "Frankly, thatll work out just fine. Because its not like once we announce we have a vaccine all of a sudden well have enough for everybody in America much less everybody on the planet."

He estimates that a safe and effective vaccine could be ready by spring of 2021.

Continued here:

COVID-19 Vaccines Make Progress, But Will People Be Willing To Get It? - KCBS

USC football receiver Kyle Ford. Alicia de Artola/Reign of Troy

There has been no shortage of great receivers for USC football over the past couple of decades. Kyle Ford hopes to become the next great.

The path for the former four-star receiver hasnt been easy though. It wont get any more simple with a new injury to get over.

What has Ford been through and where is he heading from here?

Kyle Ford was the crown jewel of USCs 2019 recruiting class, committing at the All-American Bowl in January. Despite a turbulent month including coaches leaving and players like Bru McCoy transferring, Ford stuck to his pledge and signed as the highest-ranked player in the class for the Trojans.

MORE:Solomon Tuliaupupu finally ready to take the field

As a dominant 6-foot-2 receiver from Orange Lutheran, Ford was No. 38 in the 247Sports composite, No. 6 at his position and No. 4 in California.

However, there were concerns around his health. Ford suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through his senior season.

That knee injury limited Ford for most of the 2019 season. Arriving in the summer, his rehab resulted in a redshirt season.

Thanks to the altered redshirt rule, there was opportunity for Ford to see some action as a true freshman. Once he was cleared medically, the receiver suited up for four games to end the season and even caught a 20-yard touchdown pass against Oregon.

Michael Pittmans graduation opened up a starting spot at wide receiver for 2020 and Ford was one of the favorites to vie for that role. After all, hed been compared to JuJu Smith-Schuster coming out of high school. The fit seemed just right.

Sadly, Ford will have to wait to follow in Smith-Schusters footsteps. During a workout this offseason he suffered another devastating knee injury. The torn ligaments are likely to keep him out for most of the campaign.

MORE:USC commits impacted by delayed high school season

(If the coronavirus pandemic results in the further delay of the season, Ford could benefit more than anyone. A little extra time could be the difference between a full slate and none for the redshirt freshman.)

Like Smith-Schuster, the biggest knock on Fords NFL prospects may come down to speed. On the plus side, hes got an NFL-type body and the skillset to dominate in the passing game. Productivity is the key first. Then itll be all about convincing scouts he has enough quickness to get by. If he does that, a first-round grade could follow.

See the rest here:

USC football progress report: Kyle Ford has to wait, again - Reign of Troy