Nebraska defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said Wednesday that he and the coaching staff have asked the Big Ten for clarification on how they should be coaching their players to tackle and hit after two starting defensive backs were ejected from NU’s season opener against Ohio State for targeting.
Nobody on the NU staff has taken issue with junior Cam Taylor-Britt’s ejection and suspension because he did lead into contact with the crown of his helmet, though coach Scott Frost pointed out the contact wasn’t violent.
Senior defensive back Deontai Williams, though, appeared to make initial contact with his shoulder to the chest of Buckeye receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
“On the hit, it’s a fine line,†Chinander said of Williams’ penalty. “Did he take his head out of it? Yes. Did he hit in the strike zone? I thought so. Did he launch? No. But they called it. So it’s getting to the point where you’re telling those DBs that they’ve got to go real low, and that’s a shame because I think there’s a lot more injuries that come from slicing guys’ knees out all the time than hitting in the strike zone where we’re teaching them to hit.â€
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Chinander reiterated that he wasn’t complaining about Williams’ penalty itself, but acknowledged that the staff wants more information to determine if they need to make adjustments in how they coach.
“We’re going to talk to some Big Ten officials and just see how they want us to correct it,†the third-year defensive coordinator said. “I’m not questioning their call. I just want to get it corrected and make everybody play safely and appropriately.â€
Because Williams and Taylor-Britt were each flagged for targeting and ejected in the second half against Ohio State, they are each subject to half-game suspensions. Those suspensions carry over to Saturday against Northwestern even though NU’s game last weekend against Wisconsin was canceled.
Chinander, for his part, thought Williams played well in his first game back after missing nearly all of 2019 with a shoulder injury.
“His body is good, I think his shoulder is fixed and it’s 100%, so I don’t think that’s our worry right now,†Chinander said. “He’s playing pretty free and I thought he played a really good football game. Everybody can get better, every single person that’s on our field has some things to clean up, but he played a good football game.â€