College football's new targeting rule was a point of contention this offseason, especially after top officials claimed that Jadeveon Clowney's highlight hit against Michigan would have warranted an ejection, and now we have our first "violator" on record.
Texas A&M defensive back Deshazor Everett was ejected in the fourth quarter of the Aggies' 52-31 win against Rice Saturday afternoon for targeting Owls receiver Klein Kubiak on this hit (gif via SBNation):
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/3135383/tamuwhammo.gif
The rule itself is intended to put player safety at a premium, but it's the interpretation of the rule that has caused the uproar. What exactly constitutes "targeting"? What exactly deserves an ejection and suspension, as opposed to the usual 15-yard penalty?
Well, according to the Texas A&M-Rice officials, we have our 2013 Power Five guinea pig.
(Tulane and Missouri State both had players ejected for targeting on Thursday.)
For the violation, Everett, who already missed the first half of the Rice game while serving a suspension, will have to miss the first half of Texas A&M's next game against Sam Houston State.
Texas A&M defensive end Daeshon Hall was also ejected in the second half of Saturday's win for throwing a punch.
