Tennessee cheap shot on Florida quarterback leads to brawl

Publish date: 2024-05-06

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Josh Heupel had to know what he was doing.

The Tennessee head coach called timeout with nine seconds remaining in a 29-16 loss to Florida on Saturday, forcing the Gators to run an additional play.

It all went wrong after Florida quarterback Graham Mertz waited a few seconds before taking a knee on fourth down, with defensive tackle Omari Thomas taking a shot at the signal-caller.

Cue a scuffle.

And cue two players putting their fists up, boxing style, right by the end zone.

“Timing of when [the timeout] was, a chance to try and push one into the end zone,” Heupel told reporters after the game. “Obviously, at the end of it by the time of when it happened, we weren’t going to be able to have a full sequence of plays to try and get it back into the end zone.”

Florida quarterback Graham Mertz (15) throws a pass against Tennessee on Sept. 16, 2023. AP

A review determined that Thomas wasn’t guilty of targeting and Tennessee got the ball back.

Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton, however, took a knee to end the game.

“Do we want to be composed in that situations and all situations? Absolutely,” Heupel said. “Their guy is dancing and you have to go tackle him.”

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel (l) and Florida coach Billy Napier (r). Getty Images
Florida beat Tennessee, 29-16. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Tennessee has not won at the Swamp since 2003 — a 10-game streak — and was not that close to doing so Saturday.

“That was just the weirdest ending to a game I ever had,” Mertz told reporters. “But that’s Florida-Tennessee. That’s kind of how it goes.”

The field was not the only place in Gainesville where things got messy on Saturday.

Police arrested or ejected 48 people from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, according to the Gainesville Sun, including one fan who ran onto the field.

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