One of the biggest moment’s in Florida’s win against North Texas came when linebacker Joshua Wheeler plowed into Gators quarterback Luke Del Rio, knocking him out of the game with a sprained knee.

Jim McElwain was not too pleased with the hit, which he believed came late, and it appears that Florida fans agree with their coach. Wheeler has received plenty of criticism for the hit since Saturday.

“I got slammed pretty hard on Twitter,” Wheeler told the Denton Record-Chronicle. “I had never experienced something like that. You hear about that happening, but it was new for me. I didn’t like it too much, some of the things that were said.”

Del Rio will miss the next two to three weeks as he recovers from the hit, including this weekend’s matchup with SEC East rival Tennessee. Despite the backlash, Wheeler expressed to the Record-Chronicle that the low hit was not intentional and that he is not a dirty player.

“People said that I’m a dirty player,” Wheeler said. “That was the worst part. I take that seriously. I just try to come out and compete. It was unfortunate but wasn’t intentional. People are trying to make it sound like it was.”