The SEC stated on Monday that three Florida Gators and one Tennessee Volunteers player will be punished for one
half of their next game following an on-field brawl during Florida’s 29-16 surprise victory on Saturday.
Florida suspended offensive linemen Damieon George Jr., Micah Mazzccua, and tight end Dante Zanders, while
Tennessee suspended defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott.
Florida faces Charlotte on Saturday, while Tennessee plays UTSA.
The fight occurred as Florida tried to run out the clock. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel called a surprise timeout with
nine seconds left, and Florida quarterback Graham Mertz raced about in the backfield before taking a knee.
Omari Thomas of Tennessee hit him as he fell to the ground. Florida’s players did not enjoy the contact, and a fight
ensued, with punches exchanged between the teams.
However, Thomas was not reprimanded for the contact.
Heupel explained the unusual timeout by stating that he was attempting to recover the ball to score a touchdown
before returning it on an onside kick as Florida faced a fourth-down attempt.
“I don’t know if you’re going to have enough time at an onside and maybe get a shot back,” he was quoted as saying.
“You’re trying to complete and compete in the proper manner. Obviously, by the time it happened, we wouldn’t have
had a full sequence of plays to try to go back into the end zone.”
