Former SEC official gives opinion on the David Sanders Jr holding call that erased a Braylon Staley touchdown for Tennessee against South Carolina
The Tennessee Volunteers had three touchdowns wiped off the board against South Carolina due to penalties.
Of the three touchdowns that Tennessee had erased due to penalties against South Carolina, only one was because of a questionable call.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Vols leading 21-17, quarterback George MacIntyre appeared to connect with wide receiver Braylon Staley for an 18-yard touchdown.
The touchdown, however, was called back for a holding call on left tackle David Sanders Jr.
Tennessee settled for a field goal a couple of plays later.
If you’ve watched a lot of football, you’ve likely seen similar “holds” go uncalled.
Here’s a play, for example, from Alabama’s win over Georgia earlier this season where a flag wasn’t thrown.
I mean, that’s certainly worse than what Sanders was called for against South Carolina.
Former SEC replay official Gerald Hodges, however, said this week that he didn’t have any issue with the flag thrown against Sanders.
“I didn’t have any issue with the call itself,” said Hodges, who retired in 2022, on WNML’s SportsTalk. “It was definitely there. And, of course, the flag was thrown way before the ball is ever thrown. So they have no way of knowing the result of the play. Which a lot of fans think they do, but they don’t. They’re just trying to do the best they can to manage the interior line play.”
At the end of the day, the call was made, and the result of the game is what it is. So even if Hodges felt the call was wrong, it’s not like it would change anything.
