What Nick Saban said about Dallas Turner's hit on Jayden Daniels
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dallas Turner’s hit that knocked quarterback Jayden Daniels out of the Alabama-LSU game is still being discussed two days after the Crimson Tide’s 42-28 win.
Early in the fourth quarter, Turner beat his man and had a clear shot at the LSU quarterback. The edge rusher hit Daniels as he let go of the ball and took him to the turf at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The officials threw a flag on the play, an incompletion, for roughing the passer rather than targeting, and Daniels left the field after receiving attention from trainers.
Daniels would briefly return later before entering concussion protocol and missing what was left of the final quarter. Head coach Brian Kelly ruled Daniels day-to-day against Florida.
On Monday, to kick off Kentucky week, Nick Saban was asked about his perspective on what the officials called on the field. He doesn’t know if there is a “technical coaching point.”
“You always tell the players you want them to see what they hit,” Saban said. “He hit the guy sort of in the chin, so it wasn’t like a direct hit or an intentional hit to the head. It was a really good hit, but unfortunately, his helmet did slide up and hit the guy. It’s a foul if you hit the quarterback in the head. It’s going to get called all the time.
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“And we just want to have him keep his eyes up and see what he hits and hopefully target down a little bit so it doesn’t happen again.”
Daniels threw for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 15-of-24 passing in the loss to Alabama. He also ran for 163 yards and an additional score on just 11 carries. The Tide’s defense had trouble stopping him in the first half but made adjustments at intermission to only allow seven points in the final 30 minutes. Alabama generated eight pressures and two legal hits on the quarterback, according to Pro Football Focus, as well as one sack.
Watching from the sideline, Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe also reacted to Turner’s hit.
“Well, football is made to be physical,” Milroe said on Monday. “Shoot, I got hit a couple of times then looked at the ref like, ‘You’re not gonna call that?’ But that’s football. You’ve got to get up and look at the next play. I’m glad that wasn’t me on the field, I’ll tell you that.”
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