Everyone, Not Just Alabama, Should Be Upset About Non-Targeting Call: All Things CW

When a 21-year-old quarterback gets drilled in the head by a 320-pound defensive lineman and there's no penalty, something's seriously wrong.

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Oct 20, 2022 6:42 AM EDT

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh will appear in five parts this week, one each day leading up to Saturday's game against Mississippi State.

This is ...

Take 4

It's been five days since the Alabama Crimson Tide lost at Tennessee, and as far as we know it still hasn't received an explanation on why the brutal hit on quarterback Bryce Young wasn't considered targeting.

Nick Saban has only said that the team turned the play into the league office for consideration. That was on Monday. Granted, he's had some other things on his mind this week, but as far as anyone knows the SEC has not gotten back to him or Alabama.

"There’s two things that are an issue here: targeting, but you’re also not supposed to hit the quarterback in the head," the Crimson Tide coach said. "Last year against Texas A&M, Malachi [Moore] got thrown out of the game. The guy was out of the pocket, jumped up to block the ball and ended up, almost accidentally, hitting him in the head and got ejected from the game.

"So there’s really two things that should be looked at.”

On the play in question, Alabama had first down at the Tennessee 20, with 1:38 remaining until halftime. The Crimson Tide was down 28-17, but a touchdown and extra point would make it a four-point game, and give the visiting team a lot of momentum.

Young held the ball too long, to the point that left guard Javion Cohen started to give up on the play. He and center Seth McLaughlin were double-teaming defensive lineman Omari Thomas, who got a shot at the quarterback after he stepped up to throw.

The NCAA rule book covers targeting with 9-1-3 and 9-1-4:

"Targeting and Making Forcible Contact With the Crown of the Helmet

ARTICLE 3. No player shall target and make forcible contact against an opponent with the crown of his helmet. This foul requires that there be at least one indicator of targeting (See Note 1 below). When in question, it is a foul. ...

Targeting and Making Forcible Contact to Head or Neck Area of a Defenseless Player

ARTICLE 4. No player shall target and make forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulder. This foul requires that there be at least one indicator of targeting. When in question, it is a foul. ...

Note 1: "Targeting" means that a player takes aim at an opponent for purposes of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball. Some indications of targeting (emphasis NCAA's) include but are not limited to:

Launch-a player leaving his feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body to make forcible contact in the head or neck area
A crouch followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area, even though one or both feet are still on the ground
Leading with helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area
Lowering the head before attacking by initiating forcible contact with the crown of the helmet

Note 2: Defenseless player (Rule 2-27-14). When in question, a player is defenseless. Examples of defenseless players include but are not limited to:

A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass
A receiver attempting to catch a forward pass or in position to receive a backward pass, or one who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier
A kicker in the act of or just after kicking a ball, or during the kick or the return
A kick returner attempting to catch or recover a kick, or one who has completed a catch or recovery and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier
A player on the ground
A player obviously out of the play
A player who receives a blind-side block
A ball carrier already in the grasp of an opponent and whose forward progress has been stopped
A quarterback any time after a change of possession a ball carrier who has obviously given himself up and is sliding feet first"

With all that in mind, there seems to be some obvious answers to the necessary basic questions:

Was Young a defenseless player? Yes.

Did he get hit in the head area? Yes.

Was he hit with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulder? Yes.

Did the player lead with his helmet? Did he lower his head? He appeared to, yes.

Yet the call was not targeting. The officiating crew also didn't call roughing the passer.

We defer to former NFL official Terry McAulay, an LSU graduate who worked in the ACC from 1994-97. From 1998-2017, he was the referee for seven conference championship games and three Super Bowls.

He says there's one clear conclusion: "It's clearly a targeting foul by rule."

The officials seemed to forget two things especially.

1) The line "When in question, it is a foul."

2) That the rule is there to prevent things like quarterbacks taking direct shots to the head by charging defensive lineman who are 6-4, 320 pounds.

Anyone who needs a reminder of what's at stake only need to look at what former Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's been going through with the Miami Dolphins. During Week 4 of the NFL season the fifth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was trying to extend a play when he took a big hit and then had his head strike the ground during a Thursday night game in Cincinnati.

The 24-year-old Tagovailoa told reporters in Miami on Wednesday that he doesn't remember what happened after his head hit the ground, or being carted off the field.

"I wouldn't say it was scary for me at the time because there was a point where I was unconscious, so I couldn't really tell what was going on," he said. "When I did come to and kind of realized what was going on and what was happening, I didn't think of anything long term or short term. I was just wondering what happened."

Considering it was the second blow to his head area in as many weeks, the outrage was enormous. The league responded by announcing changes to its concussion protocols, but one has to wonder what kind of long-term damage may have been done.

After the 21-year-old Young got drilled, Alabama had to settle for a 43-yard field goal.

So yes, the non-call may have influenced the outcome of the game, a 52-49 loss to snap Alabama's 15-game winning streak in the series, but that's not the most important issue here.

The No. 1 job of all officials isn't necessarily get all the calls right, although it's nice when they do. It's to protect the safety of the athletes. And if the rules need to be clearer on that point then they need to be adjusted immediately as well.

There are plenty of people who need their head examined over this, and not just the quarterback.