Washington defensive back JoJo McIntosh got booted from the Huskies’ game against Utah on Saturday for a targeting foul. Here’s the play:
Washington player uses his head as a weapon and gets tossed for targeting vs. Utah
Definitely don’t do this.
Let’s go straight to the NCAA’s rulebook, which says making “forcible contact against an opponent with the helmet crown,” or the top of the tackler’s head, is targeting.
There also has to be an “indicator” of targeting. Those include:
- Launching, or “leaving his feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body to make forcible contact in the head or neck area”
- A crouch and upward thrust to make head or neck contact, even if the hitter still has feet on the ground
- Leading with the “helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area”
- “Lowering the head before attacking by initiating forcible contact with the crown of the helmet.”
McIntosh easily checks off all of those except the third one, because he doesn’t hit his opponent in the head. He hits him in the stomach/ribs area. One might counter that McIntosh was angling for the ball and trying to force a fumble. I would counter that the rulebook doesn’t care what he was trying to do, and that he still hit the man, even if he also got some piece of the ball.
Targeting doesn’t just mean helmet-to-helmet hits. It doesn’t even mean those and hits on defenseless receivers. Using your own head as a weapon is strictly outlawed, and that’s what McIntosh did here. It’s why he’s out of the game.
McIntosh’s ejection came in the first half, so he won’t be suspended for the first 30 minutes of the Apple Cup against Washington State next weekend.
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