Tebow hit a good example why new rule is cause for concern

Taylor Wyndham should be suspended.

Or not.

It was a dirty hit. No, it was good, hard football.

Wyndham's a head hunter, or a defensive intimidator.

Relax Florida fans: Tebow has two weeks to recover from his concussion before facing LSU. (US Presswire)

The SEC has made its decision. A spokesman said Sunday that director of officials Rogers Redding felt the hit by Wyndham, a Kentucky defensive end, on Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was legal. The door, of course, is still open to public opinion following the fall of college football's patron saint. If you haven't seen a replay of Wyndham's hit on Florida's quarterback 1,000 times by now, you've either been asleep or watching hockey.

All at once, Superman and the NCAA rulebook showed vulnerability. Tebow eventually will recover from his concussion. The rulebook? We're still trying to get a handle.

It has to do with Rule 9-6 and language defining "blatant personal fouls." Florida doesn't play for two weeks, plenty of time for fans to debate the intent and severity of the hit by Wyndham.

In recent years, the NCAA rules committee has been emphasizing helmet-to-helmet hits and hits above the shoulders by defenders. A reasonable person could determine that Wyndham struck Tebow's facemask with the crown of his helmet after rushing around right end. A different person could surmise that Wyndham's helmet struck Tebow's upper chest first before striking the quarterback's facemask.

In the old days, it was no flag, no foul. The new rule allows conference offices to impose sanctions for a blatant personal foul "if the player is not ejected."

Wyndham was not called for a penalty on the play. Tebow suffered a concussion. He was released from a Lexington, Ky., hospital on Sunday.

Rule 9-6 has been a problem enough for commissioners that they addressed it Thursday at a regularly scheduled Collegiate Commissioners Association meeting in Chicago.

Some commissioners had become distressed at having to rule on plays and players even if personal fouls weren't called within games. They were being asked to interpret a rule that left just enough gray area to be disconcerting.

"Our concern is consistency," said Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters, former head of the NCAA football issues committee. "The obvious ones are not a problem. The problem is when the official doesn't do anything and either they miss a call or they miss something blatant and we [commissioners] come behind them."

On Thursday, it was decided that NCAA director of officiating Dave Parry and NCAA rules committee secretary-editor Rogers Redding [also the SEC officiating coordinator] would be used as a clearinghouse for commissioners in certain cases. The commissioners are not bound by a ruling from the pair -- they just wanted a sounding board where they could get advice in some cases.

"If there is something that's really suspect [we'll look at it]," Parry said on Sunday. "Bottom line: Most of the commissioners are saying it's better to have these things handled on the field. On rare occasions on a particular foul, a commissioner could take additional action. They did suggest on rare occasions that Rodgers and I take a look. They get pressure from coaches, I know."

Before we consider the possibility of Florida without Tebow, we must consider the hit that took him out. While there is speculation that the actual concussion occurred when Tebow's head struck the leg of teammate Marcus Gilbert, there are two different issues. The intent of the initial hit and the severity of Tebow's injury.

The fact Tebow and No. 1 Florida are involved means there will be heightened scrutiny on similar hits.

A week ago, Parry reviewed a hit by Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle that popped the helmet off Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts. He did not say what conclusion was reached. In the second week of the season, Tennessee defensive back Dennis Rogan sacked UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince with what seemed to be a helmet-to-helmet hit. Prince broke his jaw on the play.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel later said he had no problem with the hit and did not believe it led directly to Prince's injury.

There is a huge difference this time, even if you hate the Gators. The No. 1 team is involved. For the first time, Tebow is down with a significant injury. [He played on after breaking his hand two years ago.]

"No. 1, he [Wyndham] didn't leave his feet and initial contact is in the chest and his helmet rode up," Waters said when asked for an opinion. "There's a difference in good hard football and helmet-to-helmet. When you leave your feet, you're going after a target. These kids using their bodies as a missile [is a problem].

"Based on what I've seen, I would have written that off as hard football."