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Jay Norvell on hit that sent Travis Hunter to hospital: ‘It happens in football sometimes’
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Jay Norvell was the center of attention all last week following comments he made indirectly about Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. The spotlight will probably linger on the Colorado State head coach for a few more days following the events of the weekend.
Colorado star Travis Hunter will miss the next 3-4 weeks after suffering a lacerated liver in the first quarter of Saturday night’s 43-35 win. Hunter took a late shot to his midsection from CSU defensive back Henry Blackburn, which sent the CU receiver crumpling to the ground and drew a personal foul penalty.
Hunter was later ruled out for the rest of the game and taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Asked about the play on Monday, Norvell said it was unfortunate but called it a “bang-bang” kind of play. Fans on social media have called for some kind of punishment for the hit, which did not draw a targeting flag from the officiating crew. If anything is coming, Norvell didn’t hint at it.
“That’s certainly not something that we teach or coach, it happens in football sometimes,” he said, per The Denver Gazette’s Tyler King. “I hope Travis gets healthy and gets back out there. We certainly don’t want to see anybody get hurt.”
The personal foul penalty against Blackburn was one of 17 flags thrown against Colorado State during the game. The Rams lost a combined 187 yards to penalties.
Things were heated from the moment Colorado State stepped onto the field in pregame, and that tension lingered all throughout.
Norvell said Monday, though, that some fans have crossed a line. According to Norvell, Blackburn has received death threats since the game.
“Our university is supporting him, the police department is supporting him, because of the seriousness of the threats that have come out of this,” Norvell said, per The Denver Post. “It’s just sad. It’s sad that that’s the state of the world we live in. I mean, it’s a football game, let’s not make it more than that. We don’t want anybody to get hurt. We don’t coach that kind of football.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
