Tim Tebow: Illegal hit?
 

Was that violent hit on Tim Tebow illegal?

Did the defender lead with his helmet?

looked ok to me

looked good. Led with his shoulder square in Tebow's chest.

I don't think the hit was the cause of the concussion. You can see in the video the sudden jerk of his head after it hits hit teammate knee.

One heckuva good, legal hit.

They're probably having a quiet conversation over coffee this very morning. ;)

My first instinct when I saw the play on TV was something didn't look right. But when they showed a slow replay, all I could say was what a nasty legal shot. My buddies (non-officials) looked at me like I was crazy. I said, he was leading with his shoulder. They still couldn't believe me. I had to buy the next round to get them off my case.

I just looked at the replay on youtube and it looks very much like the defender led with his helmet, which hit Tebow's facemask, before his shoulder ever made contact.
anybody else see it that way?

It looks bad to me
 

It looks bad to me, helmet to chest

Speaking for me only.
 

Nope.

Peace

He did duck his head but he also moved it to the side, therefor leading with his shoulder. Textbook tackle.

If you call that play a penalty, there are at least 50 such tackles in every game.

If you are lunging toward a ball carrier, the first thing that is going to arrive is your helmet when you are going head on. No way he was intentionally using his helmet to make the contact. It was just a necessary evil.

I'm sure there were plenty of discussions going on between UM and LT. One might be "Coach, why did you put our season in jeopardize by leaving our leader in the game to risk injury?"

Careful about this. In NFHS rules at least, intent is NOT required for there to be illegal helmet contact. The rules were changed a few years back to specifically address this.

Now, this is an NCAA game and I am not sure if intent is required or not. Perhaps some of my striped friends working under NCAA rules can clear that up.