Longhorns Coach Steve Sarkisian Addresses Ovie Oghoufo Being Hit by Texas Tech Fan
Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian obviously isn't happy about Saturday's 37-34 loss in Lubbock to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, but the on-field postgame actions of a member of the Tech student body clearly didn't sit well with him either.
"I wouldn't call (it) the fan running into our player. I think the fan went and knocked our player down," Sarkisian said Monday. "Obviously those are tough situations ... when fans rush the field, it's dangerous for us as coaches on both sides, it's dangerous for the players."
In a video that has gone viral since the game, senior defensive end Ovie Oghoufo can be seen getting blindsided from behind by a Red Raiders fan rushing the field who clearly extends both arms out to push Oghoufo to the ground with force.
"It's an unfortunate situation," Sarkisian said. "I give Ovie a lot of credit. I thought he showed great poise and composure. That could've turned into an ugly situation, and I thought he handled himself well."
Sarkisian, who admitted he loves the "pageantry" of college football and all the traditions that come with it, expected nothing less than the home fans to rush the field after a big conference win.
However, he stressed that there needs to be a way to keep the players safer in order to avoid situations like what happened Saturday.
"I don't blame them for rushing the field. That's part of it when you get a victory like they got," Sarkisian said. "But, again, if we can find a better way for safety for everybody involved I think that that's a good thing ... hopefully we can take care of our players and keep them out of some of those dangerous situations."
Sarkisian says he has not reached out to Tech regarding Saturday's postgame events.
Oghoufo forced one fumble and had six total tackles in the loss to the Red Raiders. He's posted 20 total tackles and one sack in four games this season.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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