Reaction to former Notre Dame DL Ovie Oghoufo getting shoved by Texas Tech fan
Former Notre Dame defensive lineman Ovie Oghoufo was at the center of the social media world this past weekend when he was caught on camera getting shoved from behind by a Texas Tech fan who stormed the field after the Red Raiders beat Texas in overtime Saturday. Oghoufo transferred to Texas from Notre Dame prior to the 2021 season.
Oghoufo and a teammate were caught in a mass of humanity trying to exit the field after the loss. A Tech fan came running up behind Oghoufo and violently shoved him in the back with both hands.
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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian spoke on the matter Monday.
“I wouldn’t call the fan ‘running into our player.’ I think the fan went and knocked our player down. Obviously, those are tough situations. I love the pageantry of college football. When fans rush the field, it’s dangerous for us as coaches on both sides. It’s dangerous for the players. It’s an unfortunate situation.
“I give Ovie a lot of credit. I thought he showed a lot of great poise and composure. That could have turned into an ugly situation. I thought he handled himself well. But no, I have not reached out to Tech. Our administration may have. Our focus is on our team and getting us better and ready to play.”
Sarkisian was then asked what the protocol is for getting a team off the field after the field has been stormed.
“The protocol is we just try to usher them off the field as best we can. I think ultimately we want to have great sportsmanship. I wanted to make a point of going to shake coach (Joey) McGuire’s hand. He got to me. I’m a little bit more fortunate. I’m surrounded by police officers. Our players don’t all have police officers around them. Our strength staff tries to get them off the field. But there is a level of sportsmanship you go shake the man’s hand you just competed against.
“We try to do those things. They’re dangerous situations when fans come on the field. I don’t blame them for rushing the field. That’s part of it when you get a victory like they got. But if we could find a better way for safety for everyone involved, I think that’s a good thing. That’s why some other conferences have pretty significant fines if you rush the court or if you rush the field in football to try to eliminate some of that stuff.
“Again, that was a good win for them. They rushed the field. Hopefully we can take care of our players and keep them out of some of those dangerous situations.”
Twitter reaction to former Notre Dame DL Ovie Oghoufo getting shoved after field storming
Twitter took Kyle Umlag‘s advice and sounded off on the matter.
Oghoufo played in 20 games at Notre Dame from 2018-20. He recorded 22 tackles, 2.5 sacks and three pass breakups in a Notre Dame uniform. Oghoufo played in 12 games with eight starts in 2021, his first season away from Notre Dame. In 16 games at Texas, Oghoufo has 32 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.
