John Mateer wouldn’t have been safe on the field with Booger McFarland around.
ABC was transitioning away from its coverage of the Alabama-Missouri game on Saturday and went to its studio prior to the kickoff of the Red River Rivalry game between Oklahoma and Texas.
ABC showed Oklahoma quarterback Mateer warming up on the field at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, before the game. They mentioned how it was Mateer’s first game since undergoing hand surgery on Sept. 24 and how he was playing just 17 days after the surgery.
“That’s a thumb and a hand I would be looking to step on as a defensive lineman,” McFarland said.
Whethere McFarland was joking is up to you to decide, but it sure sounded like something he would have done as a player and would encourage his teammates to do. Players aren’t fools. They know the situation and would want to exploit weaknesses, even if that means getting rough with an opponent and targeting their injury.
McFarland, 47, was a defensive tackle in college at LSU. He later played in the NFL and won two Super Bowls — one with the Bucs and the other with the Colts. He would probably just call it part of the game.