Tommy Deas
TideSports.com Associate Editor
In the third quarter of the University of Alabama's 52-12 win over Southern Mississippi, starting safety Nick Perry was ejected for targeting. He will miss the first half against Florida next Saturday.
If a player is called for targeting in the first half of a game, he is ejected and misses the rest of that game. If the call comes in the second half as it did against Perry, the player is ejected and misses the rest of the game along with the first half of the next game. A 15-yard penalty is also tacked on.
"I don't question the call that was made against Nick Perry," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "I don't think he did it intentionally, but was it helmet-to-helmet? I think it probably was. I mean, I was standing right in front of him."
The play was reviewed and the call was confirmed.
"Did he mean to do it? No, alright, but you've got to change your launch point, alright, and you've got to see what you hit, and those are the kind of plays that we're trying to eliminate in football," Saban said. "Now, do I think he did it on purpose? Do I think he's a bad person? Absolutely no. He's out there competing and playing hard, but it is the rule, and I can't question the call. I really can't. I hate it that we lose him, but it's just something that we have to learn from."
Saban said that the team will have to create some situations at secondary, and it will have to work through the first half and see where it ends up.
With Perry out of commission for a half, someone has to step up, junior cornerback Cyrus Jones said.
"It was a tough play, but we all know the new rule, what targeting and what not is something they're trying to pretty much focus on and trying to eliminate from the game," Jones said.
Alabama lost Jarrick Williams after the West Virginia game due to a "Jones" fracture in his foot. Williams and Perry are both seniors with multiple years of experience playing in the secondary.
"It's definitely just puts a little bit more pressure on the older guys that are playing a lot just to hold down the fort. I guess you could say, just be there for whoever they put in his place, and be there for the young guys that have to step up," Jones said.
With both Perry and Williams out, the secondary is getting a little thin.
"Especially when some of those guys play Star, too, so when we're playing a team that we play a lot of nickel against which we will when we play Florida for sure," Saban said.
Perry left with one tackle. His loss means less knowledge in the backfield.
"Other than that, we've got other safeties that will step up and will learn the keys and concepts of what's going on," Collins said. "That's what we have to do. We have to have other guys step in and do exactly what he has to do."
After his ejection, Perry tweeted: "My apologies to BamaNation.. My boys will take care of business #NoFlyZone"
Alabama (3-0) will start conference play against Florida on Saturday.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1681164
TideSports.com Associate Editor
In the third quarter of the University of Alabama's 52-12 win over Southern Mississippi, starting safety Nick Perry was ejected for targeting. He will miss the first half against Florida next Saturday.
If a player is called for targeting in the first half of a game, he is ejected and misses the rest of that game. If the call comes in the second half as it did against Perry, the player is ejected and misses the rest of the game along with the first half of the next game. A 15-yard penalty is also tacked on.
"I don't question the call that was made against Nick Perry," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "I don't think he did it intentionally, but was it helmet-to-helmet? I think it probably was. I mean, I was standing right in front of him."
The play was reviewed and the call was confirmed.
"Did he mean to do it? No, alright, but you've got to change your launch point, alright, and you've got to see what you hit, and those are the kind of plays that we're trying to eliminate in football," Saban said. "Now, do I think he did it on purpose? Do I think he's a bad person? Absolutely no. He's out there competing and playing hard, but it is the rule, and I can't question the call. I really can't. I hate it that we lose him, but it's just something that we have to learn from."
Saban said that the team will have to create some situations at secondary, and it will have to work through the first half and see where it ends up.
With Perry out of commission for a half, someone has to step up, junior cornerback Cyrus Jones said.
"It was a tough play, but we all know the new rule, what targeting and what not is something they're trying to pretty much focus on and trying to eliminate from the game," Jones said.
Alabama lost Jarrick Williams after the West Virginia game due to a "Jones" fracture in his foot. Williams and Perry are both seniors with multiple years of experience playing in the secondary.
"It's definitely just puts a little bit more pressure on the older guys that are playing a lot just to hold down the fort. I guess you could say, just be there for whoever they put in his place, and be there for the young guys that have to step up," Jones said.
With both Perry and Williams out, the secondary is getting a little thin.
"Especially when some of those guys play Star, too, so when we're playing a team that we play a lot of nickel against which we will when we play Florida for sure," Saban said.
Perry left with one tackle. His loss means less knowledge in the backfield.
"Other than that, we've got other safeties that will step up and will learn the keys and concepts of what's going on," Collins said. "That's what we have to do. We have to have other guys step in and do exactly what he has to do."
After his ejection, Perry tweeted: "My apologies to BamaNation.. My boys will take care of business #NoFlyZone"
Alabama (3-0) will start conference play against Florida on Saturday.
https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1681164
