Tribune Newspapers: Newport News Daily Press

January 5, 2006

Virginia Tech players were out of control during the first half of the Gator Bowl, and Hokies quarterback Marcus Vick should have been ejected for stomping on a prone Louisville defender, the game's referee said Wednesday.

Steve Usecheck, a Big 12 Conference official who led the crew for Monday's game, called Tech's first-half taunting and late hits the worst he has seen in his 22 seasons. But he said no official saw Vick stomp the back of Elvis Dumervil's leg while Dumervil was down on the turf late in the second quarter.

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"We missed that, and I'm sorry we did," Usecheck said from his Colorado home.

"The TV, everybody saw it but us. I wish we had the opportunity to talk to [Vick] because that was complete [expletive]. You bet I would have thrown his [expletive] out."

Usecheck said he had not seen a replay of the Vick incident but that purposely stomping a defenseless opponent warrants ejection. NBC showed the incident several times during its Gator Bowl telecast, and the footage has aired countless times since on ESPN and other networks. Tech athletic director Jim Weaver has called Vick's action "unacceptable" and vowed to punish him.

Officials called five personal fouls against the Hokies during the first half, four that cost Tech yardage and one that was offset by a Louisville personal foul.

"I was really disappointed," Usecheck said. "We don't see football like that [in the Big 12]. Those kids were just completely out of control. Louisville wasn't as bad. Virginia Tech was brutal."

Usecheck ejected Hokies All-America cornerback Jimmy Williams in the first quarter for swinging his arm at head linesman Al Green. Williams was jawing with Louisville's Amobi Okoye, and Green grabbed Williams to separate the two.

"He never hit the official, but he swung at him twice," Usecheck said of Williams.

During the standard meeting of team captains before the second half, Usecheck said he told the players: "I don't care if I'm out here until midnight calling penalties. This has got to stop."

The second half was incident-free aside from offsetting personal fouls early in the fourth quarter, and the Hokies rallied to win 35-24.

Tech coach Frank Beamer was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached. But immediately after the game, Beamer said: "I'm not happy with some things that went on in the first half. Let's leave it at that."

Weaver said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the Hokies' overall behavior because he viewed the game from the press-box level and not the field. But Weaver reaffirmed his promise to discipline Vick, first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference choice this season as a junior.

"We've got to deal with it in a fair and firm manner, but you just can't go off half-cocked," Weaver said. "We'll get it done, I'll guarantee it."

Having Vick away from campus on semester break and Beamer on the road recruiting slows the process, according to Weaver, who estimated he had received 200 e-mails about the Vick incident.

In my opinion, those comments are very unprofessional.

Also, in related news...Quarterback Marcus Vick will be suspended an undetermined number of games next season if he returns to school, according to two athletics department sources who wished to remain anonymous. The suspension is the result of Vick stomping on a Louisville player's leg during Monday's Gator Bowl.
Coach Frank Beamer will be in the Hampton Roads area today and will meet with Brenda Boddie, Vick's mother, and Vick to discuss options. If Vick doesn't accept the suspension, he will either have to transfer or turn pro.

I agree about the comments. I have a hard time believing that an official, especially one of that caliber, would say things like that.

Who knows, maybe he thought he was talking off the record, but I have to imagine the Big 12 will have something to say about this. I think this is something we can all learn from.

REPLY: Actually Usecheck is retiring. The VT-Louisville game was his last. I guess he just felt he could now get a lot of things off his chest with impunity. The only thing that the Big-12 can say is something like "Steve's comments do not reflect the opinions of the Big-12 or its members" ...or something like that.

Failed to realize that he was retiring. What a way to go out!

Still....I understand how strong the urge would be to say something about that, given that it's obviously a huge play and goes to the "WTF were those darn lazy officials watching?" stereotype of many fans and the media, but I would think that even if you're retiring from the field itself, you may have a chance/desire to work in another capacity (supervisor, replay official, whatever) later on.

Even if you think you're completely done with officiating, maybe breaking one of the cardinal rules that I was taught ("Silence can't be quoted.") isn't the best idea.

If asked, I would like to think I would have said, "I'm sorry, you'll have to talk to the Big 12 office about that" and let the conference supervisor say something official.

(In other news, having the "reply" and "new thread" buttons right next to each other messes me up a lot.)

OverAndBack I like that one....you just gave me a new cardinal rule!