Josh Heupel explains controversial fair catch call from Tennessee loss to Alabama
Coach Josh Heupel said a Tennessee player pointed at the football as it sailed over his head, which an official regarded as a fair catch signal for a controversial call in the Vols’ 34-20 loss to Alabama last Saturday.
“I mean, letter of the law, anybody that puts their hand above the shoulder, that would signify a fair catch,” Heupel said on Monday. “We had a front line guy that put his pointer finger up slightly above his shoulder.”
Cam Seldon caught the kickoff and advanced it. By rule, if the team returns a kick after any player on the field calls for a fair catch, the ball is placed where the player catches it.
That meant Tennessee started its drive on the 4-yard line, where Seldon caught the kick, rather than the 25, where it would’ve been if he had not advanced it.
Initially, there was confusion about which Tennessee player called for a fair catch. Seldon did not. And it didn’t appear that Dee Williams, the other deep returner, did either.
Heupel said officials ruled that a player on the front line of the return team signaled for a fair catch of the sky kick. Heupel didn’t identify the player, and he said the player wasn’t coached to point at the football.
How fair catch impacted Vols' second-half slide
The play served as turning point in the game.
Alabama had just scored a quick touchdown to cut Tennessee’s lead to 20-14 early in the third quarter. The Vols went three-and-out. And both their momentum and their lead vanished. Alabama outscored Tennessee 27-0 in the second half.
Heupel was frustrated by officiating after the game. Tennessee was flagged eight times for 55 yards, and Alabama was called for one penalty for 5 yards.
When asked the disparity in the postgame press conference, Heupel stood in silence at the podium for 16 seconds.
“Next question, yeah? Was that a long enough silence?,” Heupel said.
He had a calmer tone on Monday, but he still didn’t say much about the fair catch play.
No. 20 Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC) plays Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Josh Heupel explains controversial fair catch call from Tennessee loss to Alabama
