Nick Fitzgerald opens up about Devin White’s controversial targeting ejection against Mississippi State in 2018

Nick Fitzgerald joined the Saturday Down South Podcast this week to discuss a number of topics.

During the wide-ranging interview, host Connor O’Gara asked the former Mississippi State star QB about a controversial targeting penalty against LSU LB Devin White in the Bulldogs’ game against the Tigers in 2018.

As you can see in the clip below, Fitzgerald admitted that perhaps the flag shouldn’t have been thrown on the play:

LSU fans, remember when Devin White had that ridiculous targeting ejection against MSU in 2018?

Nick Fitzgerald cleared the air on that: pic.twitter.com/98tVkOSrLA

— Connor O'Gara (@cjogara) March 21, 2023

“What a lucky break, man, right?” Fitzgerald quipped. “What a call. I should have sent that ref a thank-you basket or something, honestly. It kinda happened twice in that game. There were 2 targeting calls that maybe shouldn’t have been targeting calls, but I wasn’t about to complain. Zero complaints coming from me.

“I played it off, too. I acted like I was woozy, looking at the ref. He threw the flag and I was like, ‘Great, let’s go!'”

Fitzgerald said he told White after the game that he didn’t feel like to play was targeting. White had to miss the first half of the Tigers’ game against Alabama the following week.

Here’s a look at the controversial play again in case you forgot what happened:

The play that got Devin White ejected for targeting and suspended for the first half of Bama vs LSU pic.twitter.com/aKnhLcD6KR

— CFB Gif'er (@CFBgifer) October 21, 2018

Check out the full interview on the Saturday Down South Podcast here.

Adam Spencer

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.