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Tennessee football's successful onside kick vs Texas was illegal, SEC says
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- Tennessee football's successful onside kick vs Texas was illegal, SEC says
(This story was updated to include new information.)
Tennessee football 's onside kick recovery against Texas on Sept. 26 nearly led to a miraculous win for the Vols . But, according to the SEC, it broke multiple rules.
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The league said in a statement on Sept. 28 that Tennessee's onside kick with 1:22 remaining "was incorrectly officiated and should have resulted in a five-yard penalty on Tennessee and a replay of the down."
Down 20-17 with no timeouts, Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) sent punter Jackson Ross out for the try, and instead of kicking off the ground he opted for a drop kick. The ball, spinning unpredictably, bounced off Texas receiver Ryan Wingo's hands and was recovered by Tennessee's Arion Carter.
According to the SEC's statement, Ross committed two violations. His drop kick came from the 34-yard line, but all kickoffs — including onside kicks — have to be taken from the 35-yard line. The kicker is also not allowed to change their lateral position between the hash marks unless there is a stoppage in play, like a timeout. Trying to deceive Texas, Ross faked as if he was going to his right before switching to the other side.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Sept. 28 that he thought his team was operating within the rules. "That kick was actually run previously inside of this league," Heupel said. "We had earlier communication with the league as well."
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The Vols took inspiration from South Carolina, which in 2024 attempted a similar drop kick Iate in the fourth quarter against Alabama. The punter also did his onside kick from the 34-yard line and it was recovered by the Gamecocks, although he did not change directions like Ross.
South Carolina was not penalized for the play and the SEC did not issue a statement saying it should have been.
Tennessee ultimately couldn't take advantage of its last possession, resigned to a Hail Mary pass by quarterback Faizon Brandon that was broken up in the end zone. But Texas coach Steve Sarkisian still called for a review of the play immediately after the game.
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"We need to get a ruling on how they kicked it because there's a lot of gray area in that and obviously, one of the officials thought it was a foul and threw it." Sarkisian said. "They ended up picking it up. We've got to get a ruling on that because that was a bit unique, walking into a drop kick like that."
Ross said postgame that even though it was his first in-game onside kick, he and his teammates had practiced the drop kick many times before.
The Vols play Auburn (3-1, 1-1) next on Oct. 3 (3:30 p.m., ESPN).
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com ; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football's successful onside kick vs Texas was illegal, SEC says
