Kirby Smart on James Cook’s targeting ejection: It was ‘a rookie mistake’
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Georgia Bulldogs didn’t have many negatives in their big 45-0 season-opening win over Austin Peay on Saturday.
However, freshman RB James Cook will now miss the first half of the South Carolina game next week because of a targeting penalty he received in the fourth quarter.
As you can see in the video below, Cook absolutely destroys Austin Peay’s punt returner after he calls for a fair catch:
Georgia Running Back James Cook Ejected for Targeting on a Punt Return #Georgia #UGA #GoDawgs https://t.co/r2MzGrJpXv pic.twitter.com/5GUqOfGhnJ
— TMSPN.com (@sportsgossip) September 1, 2018
After the game, coach Kirby Smart discussed the play and the ensuing suspension. He said Cook didn’t have any bad intent. Instead, he simply didn’t see the fair catch call.
“Just a poor decision,” Smart said. “The kid’s playing tough, a lot of effort. We were actually subbing out. Mecole was in that spot and we took him out late in the game to give James his first punt reps and he didn’t see the fair catch, so it wasn’t like there was an intent to harm. … Just not a good decision, a rookie mistake and it’s really unfortunate because he’s a really good player and he’ll be missed in the first half next week.”
Watch Smart’s comments at the 6:30 mark of the video below:
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
