UT’s Breckyn Hager targets Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes, then apologizes.
Horns scramble to qualify DE’s comment about hurting Mahomes
AUSTIN — The last time Texas played at Texas Tech, the Longhorns knocked quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of the game.
On Monday, UT defensive end Breckyn Hager caused a bit of a stir when he suggested the Longhorns’ objective is to do the same thing Saturday.
“I say injure that quarterback,” Hager said during an interview with television reporters. “That’s the mentality right now. We’ve got to take him out. We know he’s banged up, and we’ve just got to get after him.”
On Monday afternoon, outside Royal-Memorial Stadium, Hager said he was sorry for the “injure that quarterback” remark, which he repeated another time during the TV interview. Hager said he was talking about the need for UT’s defense to hit the quarterback and that he doesn’t want Mahomes to suffer an injury.
“That’s not what I meant,” Hager said.
Later, UT released official statements from Hager and coach Charlie Strong, with the sophomore from Austin Westlake apologizing and saying “it was a really poor choice of words, and I truly regret it.”
‘Not what I’m about’
“I play hard and it’s our team’s goal to get pressure on the quarterback, hit him and disrupt the offense,” Hager’s statement read. “When I go out there I want to play my most aggressive game, but I’m not trying to do anything to physically injure someone. I have too much respect for Patrick Mahomes and every quarterback I play against to ever do that. That’s not what I’m about, not the way I was raised and not the way we play football at Texas.”
The statement quoted Strong as saying, “I want to make one thing clear — we never walk into a game wanting to injure someone. We would never coach that way and that’s not how our team plays. We respect the game too much, we respect other players, we respect how hard they’ve worked to get in the position they’re in, so that’s not our character.”
Even so, Hager’s comments will add heat to a grudge match that had been testy in recent years. Two years ago in Lubbock, Mahomes left the Longhorns’ victory early when UT defensive back Quandre Diggs delivered a huge hit. Two days later, Diggs was asked if he was sorry Mahomes suffered a concussion on the play.
“Nah,” said Diggs, who now plays for the Detroit Lions. “He signed up to play football. Sometimes that happens.”
Last Thanksgiving, Mahomes gained some retribution,
throwing for 372 yards in a 48-45 Tech victory.
This year, Mahomes leads the nation with 439.9 passing yards per game for Tech (4-4, 2-3 Big 12), even while dealing with a shoulder injury that has affected him for much of the past month. Mahomes’ history of injuries might have been one reason his father, former major league pitcher Pat Mahomes, expressed consternation about Hager’s comments Monday.
“Are you kidding me,” the elder Mahomes wrote on Twitter in response to a post describing what Hager said.
For the Longhorns (44, 2-3), the younger Mahomes represents another challenge for a defense that has struggled against potent passing attacks all season.
In last week’s victory over Baylor, though, UT found a few reasons to be encouraged. Yes, the Longhorns yielded 624 total yards, and allowed Bears quarterback Seth Russell to roam free for much of the afternoon.
But on a day the Longhorns limited the Bears to two field goals in the final 22 minutes of the game and made crucial stops on Baylor’s final two possessions, did they think they played strong defense?
Defense on the alert
“When we needed to,” tackle Paul Boyette said.
UT will take that as a positive. Much of the defense’s success came as a result of pressuring the quarterback, which will be a goal against the Red Raiders this week.
“Coming into the game, we already know we’re going to have to hit him, regardless,” tackle Chris Nelson said.
“Make sure the quarterback’s mindset is shaky, or a little rattled,” linebacker Tim Cole said. “That makes him (have) indecision and make bad throws.”