At about 9:30 in the 3rd of the Arkansas-Vanderbilt game, on a punt play, a WR of Arkansas ran into and laid out the Vanderbilt punt returner. The hit was almost a full second before the ball hit the ground, and while the returner was looking up (the ball subsequently landed about 5 yards in front of the returner). It was an obvious KCI call. A Vanderbilt player recovered and advanced the kick. Some thoughts were that the Vanderbilt returner called for a fair catch, but replay showed he was obviously only shielding his eyes from the sun, so R advancing the punt was legal.
On the play, the officials ruled that the hit was a flagrant personal foul, and was declined because the 15 yard penalty was shorter than the distance of the punt return of 24 yards. He also lowered his helmet to make the hit. The commentary (I know it's unreliable) stated that the WR who hit the returner was taunting, pounding his chest after the hit. The player was ejected for his hit, according to the white hat during his announcement.
I was born and raised a Razorback fan, but the WR's actions sickened me. Could he have been assessed a 15-yard penalty for his USC that would have been added to the run? Could the personal foul have been added to the end of the run? Or not, since it was before the kick ended? As a fan of the team, I hope that he is a former player. Not simply for the hit--that by itself is boneheaded, but in a vacuum, is potentially forgivable. I hope he is a former player because 1) he started showboating after the hit while the play was going on; 2) he continued to quibble about his own problems after being ejected. I have no tolerance for quibbling, and less for people who are looking after themselves when they just injured a fellow player, even if he is an opponent.
Video of the play:
Marquel Wade gets an illegal hit on Jonathan Krause - YouTube