Benches Clear After Coastal Carolina Player Cheap Shots BYU QB Zach Wilson
Dec 5, 2020, 5:35 PM | Updated: 6:24 pm
BYU quarterback Zach Wilson in action against Coastal Carolina on December 5th, 2020. (BYU Photo/Jaren Wilkey)
(BYU Photo/Jaren Wilkey)
PROVO, Utah – Things got testy at the end of the first half between BYU and Coastal Carolina.
BYU quarterback Zach Wilson attempted a pass on the second quarter’s final play that was intercepted by Coastal Carolina’s Derick Bush. Chanticleer defenders then began to block Wilson as Bush was returning the pick in an attempt to take it in for a score.
Coastal Carolina players take cheap shots on BYU star Zach Wilson
The blocks appeared to be legal on Wilson at first, but then there was unnecessary roughness by Coastal’s Jeffrey Gunter, who added additional hits to Wilson after the star quarterback hit the ground the first time.
Watch the video for yourself.
Coastal taking cheap shots on #BYU QB Zach Wilson.#BYUvsCCU #BYUFootball @kslsports pic.twitter.com/AWC77EOUmp
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 6, 2020
BYU players then ran on the field to protect their captain and teammate. Coastal Carolina’s bench cleared shortly after, leading to a bit of a melee at the end of the first half. A half that concluded with BYU holding a one-point lead at 14-13.
After the melee cleared out, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was on the BYU Sports Network for his halftime interview and was asked what happened at the end of the half. Sitake replied, “They were cheap shotting our quarterback, and our players didn’t like that.”
A scuffle broke out at halftime of the BYU-Coastal Carolina game. pic.twitter.com/hpDXTgabCR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 6, 2020
No flags were thrown on Coastal Carolina for the hits given to Wilson.
In an era of football where referees are actively looking to protect quarterbacks, to see no penalties called on the Chanticleer defenders issuing late hits on Wilson was surprising. All of the happy vibes coming into the college football’s feel-good story of the season with this game coming together on short notice has suddenly gone out the window.
BYU and Coastal Carolina can be seen on ESPNU and heard on KSL NewsRadio 102.7 FM, 1160 AM.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.
