Did a Tennessee Volunteer special teams player quit against the Florida Gators?

by Joel Hollingsworth on Sep 19, 2007 11:59 PM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football

If you haven't heard yet, Gatorcountry.com reported on Wednesday that an unnamed Tennessee player not only gave up on a play late in the game against Florida, but also told Florida special teams player Derek Baldry that he was giving up. From the FanHouse:

On the point-after attempt, after the 48th point, one of the guys rushing, I guess, decided he didn't want to go too hard. Instead of shooting through the gap, which is where he would have come through me, he kind of ran into me and kind of pulled up and said "whoa, whoa, whoa" as if I were going to deliver a hit to him. Verbatim he said, "I don't want to rush this s--- anymore, I'm too f----g tired." That's what he said.

As he was saying "whoa, whoa, whoa," I thought the play had been whistle dead or a flag had been thrown or something. I didn't understand what was going on. I kind of looked around real quick and I saw the ref[] with his arms up in the air, showing it was a good kick, and that's when I tapped him on the head and ran off.

For the record, Erik Ainge doesn't believe it. He did say that if the report was true, that he "wouldn't want him playing for me on my team, period." Sophomore defensive tackle Dan Williams also said that if the story is correct, that he hopes Tennessee coaches find the guy who did it.

And so . . . I took another look at the video:

That's all the video there is, and that's in slow motion.

And man, I wish I wouldn't have looked because it looks like there were several guys who weren't really selling out for this play. Isn't that to be expected, though? Down 28, no chance of a fake PAT, almost no chance of blocking it, and little, if any, reward for blocking it. Still, you ought to give effort, right?

But the bigger issue here is not so much whether a Tennessee player had waved the white flag on this play but whether he verbalized his surrender to Baldry. Baldry, by the way, is No. 89, but I can't tell which player he is, can you?

What do y'all think?

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NEVER NEVER GIVE UP !!!!!

I think thats what Churchill said in WW2? Anyway this Old Hound Dawg has played a lot of football in my day and "I never quit",but if I did I would never never tell anyone about it.I think the don't ask don't tell rule would apply here.I also think the GAY-TOR is lieing thru his crooked teeth. GO VOLS NEVER GIVE UP!!!!! More News to Come, OLD SMOKEY

OLD SMOKEY

by old smokey on Sep 20, 2007 6:01 AM EDT reply actions

Well, I think that might be big Derek Baldry...

... on the right flank, one player to the left of the far-right outside guy. You can see the Vol player opposite of him just sort of stands up, which doesn't seem to perfectly mesh with Baldry's account of the proceedings, but it's pretty close.

Could be wrong though.

OrangeandBlueHue.com: the world through Gator-colored glasses.

by Gatorpilot on Sep 20, 2007 9:57 AM EDT reply actions

One more thing...

... he is a former Army Ranger, served multiple tours in the middle east. Erik Ainge thinks somebody's lying. It ain't him.

OrangeandBlueHue.com: the world through Gator-colored glasses.

by Gatorpilot on Sep 20, 2007 9:57 AM EDT reply actions

Tap on the Helmet

I think the key is the tap on the Vols helmet, as Baldry said, prior to running off the field. Baldry is listed as a tightend. It's not very clear but pause/play/pause the video just after the camera pans back to the field after the kick and see if the left tight end doesn't appear to lower his arm just before the video concludes. Nothing conclusive, but perhaps.

by volinal on Sep 20, 2007 1:15 PM EDT reply actions

Good catch...

Yeah, I see what you're saying, it does look like a tap on the helmet. That's probably him, and his defender does kind of "fall" into him like Baldry said. I think you found the right one.

OrangeandBlueHue.com: the world through Gator-colored glasses.

by Gatorpilot on Sep 21, 2007 12:48 PM EDT reply actions