WATCH: Did a Purdue defender fake an injury against Missouri?
In the age of up-tempo football, defenses sometimes have to get creative to slow down their opponents.
For Missouri’s most recent foe, that might have meant faking an injury.
A clip from the Tigers’ showdown against Purdue shows Boilermaker linebacker Cornel Jones, wearing No. 46, fall to the ground after getting lined up with no noticeable difficulty. What makes the situation even more suspicious is that right defensive end Kai Higgins (No. 98) appears to direct Jones to hit the ground, thereby stopping play for an injury timeout.
Bro what is this? Watch 98 tell 46 to go down, to stop our tempo… Clear as day pic.twitter.com/hnD6WhIy8d
— Sean *Archon (@ArchonRL) September 16, 2018
It was just the first quarter when this occurred, but Missouri ran 89 plays last Saturday and is usually among the FBS leaders in tempo.
This is far from the first time a player has been suspected of faking an injury to give his defense a break, but it’s certainly one of the most questionable.