College football has its fair share of knuckleheads running around on the playing fields, but Cougars senior defensive end Phillip Hunt isn’t one of them.
Hunt is a good kid. He hustles hard in every game and usually makes big plays when his team needs them most. With 29 1/2 sacks in three-plus seasons, he has been the most consistent player for a Houston defense that remains an enigma.
But Hunt is also human.
Hunt’s most recent mistake put an opposing player out of action for the rest of the season and brought a load of negative attention to a clean program. But it wasn’t totally his fault.
With just more than six minutes left in Saturday’s 42-14 win over Tulane, Hunt barreled into Green Wave redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Kemp, knocking him into the turf. The hit broke Kemp’s collarbone, and he underwent season-ending surgery Tuesday.
The hit was controversial because the play had been whistled dead because of a delay-of-game penalty on Tulane, leaving Kemp, who had paused after dropping back, completely exposed to Hunt, who charged in at full steam. Hunt, who was flagged for unnecessary roughness, said he never heard the official’s whistle, which came either just before or right after the snap.
Hunt apologized Monday in a statement released by UH.
"I want to start by saying how sorry I am for what happened the other night against Tulane," Hunt said. "I certainly did not try to hurt (Kemp). I never heard the whistle, and I felt I was still being blocked so I continued on.
"It was third down and nine, my adrenaline was pumping and the crowd was really loud. It just happened so quickly, and I am truly sorry and apologetic for him getting hurt."
Conference USA investigated the incident, but determined Hunt would not receive additional punishment, though Tulane head coach Bob Toledo suggested the latter. One can be sure a lot of Tulane fans would also have liked to see the league come down a little harder on Hunt.
But further punishment would have been somewhat uncalled for. With a stadium full of 23,522 screaming fans, it would have been tough for any player to hear that whistle, especially a defensive lineman anxious to get to the opposing quarterback.
Plus, the officials did not move quickly enough to step in between Hunt and Kemp. They also deserve some scrutiny.
"It was the job of the officials to protect a defenseless player," Tulane Athletic Director Rick Dickson told The New Orleans Times-Picayune. "We saw a flag and everyone stop except one player and the official (back judge Ivan Daniels) did not move to protect the quarterback."
Football is a highly physical game; players suffer gruesome, season-ending injuries all the time. But it’s probably never easy for the player who delivers the unfortunate blow.
Still, Hunt will have to refocus for Saturday’s game against C-USA Western Division frontrunner and Associated Press No. 25 Tulsa (8-1, 5-0 C-USA). The Cougars (5-4, 4-1 C-USA) need a win to become eligible for a postseason bowl and to keep alive their hopes of winning the division.
They’ll need Hunt and the other three starting defensive linemen to apply consistent pressure on Tulsa senior quarterback David Johnson. Anything less, and Johnson will pick the Cougars’ secondary apart.
The Cougars are fortunate they have a player as dependable and trustworthy as Hunt. His reputation is as good as gold.
One unavoidable incident won’t rob him of that.
