What Alabama’s players thought about Arkansas holding QB Jalen Hurts down by the neck
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There was much to talk about after Alabama’s decisive 49-30 win over Arkansas this past Saturday, but it was one play in particular that has continued to be a point of discussion.
It was in the third quarter when Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception and was held down by the neck of Arkansas defensive lineman JaMichael Winston, who was obviously trying to prevent the freshman from getting up and making a potential tackle but may have done it a bit excessively.
What's that, @GregSankey? pic.twitter.com/gb4EJU3kyt
— Bryant-Denny Stadium (@BryantDenny_UA) October 9, 2016
Whether the refs didn’t think twice of it or failed to see it at all, no penalty flag was thrown on the play.
“I heard about it after the game, but really didn’t really see it,” Alabama left guard Ross Pierschbacher told AL.com earlier this week. “I didn’t know what was going on. But it was a bad deal.”
Here’s another angle:
“The play was well away from that so I’m not sure anybody saw it,” said running back Damien Harris. “It’s one of those players where you have to keep your quarterback healthy and protect him. We have to do a better job about that and keep stuff like that from happening.”
What do you think? Was it a dirty play, or was Winston doing Hurts a favor by not laying a big hit in the first place?
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
