Toledo coach Jason Candle has suspended sophomore defensive end Terrance Taylor for the Rockets upcoming game against Buffalo following his vicious late hit on Northern Illinois quarterback Ross Bowers in Wednesday night’s game at the Glass Bowl.
Taylor was ejected from the game and called for targeting in the third quarter. Per NCAA rules, he was set to miss the first half of the game at Buffalo on Nov. 20. But Candle felt the severity of the hit warranted further disciplinary action, and Taylor will now be held out of the entire game.
In the third quarter on Wednesday night, Bowers kept the ball on a read-option play and rolled to the left, before slipping on the turf and popping to his knees. With the play over, Taylor then made a violent helmet-to-helmet hit from behind.
With player safety coming to the forefront recently in all levels of football, the hit with the crown of Taylor’s helmet square on the back of the head of Bowers, who was turned the other way, was particularly troubling.
“I am disappointed in the play,” Candle told The Blade on Thursday morning. “It’s not something we coach. We’ll use it as a teaching tool for our team on the value of discipline in emotional times.”
This is an all time cheap shot #MACtion pic.twitter.com/lCrrtosOnV
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 14, 2019
Bowers remained in the game following the hit and led the Huskies on a touchdown drive that gave them a 21-7 lead. Northern Illinois held on for a 31-28 win.
Toledo fell to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the MAC.
Taylor, a sophomore, has made 24 tackles (5½ for loss) this season and ranks second on the team with three sacks. As a freshman last season, he had 16 tackles (5½ for loss) and 2½ sacks in 13 games.
First Published November 14, 2019, 2:19 p.m.
