Georgia Bench Warmer Parker Jones collides with the ref in the loss to Notre Dame and gains internet fame.
After losing his team 15 crucial yards in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the redshirt cornerback was still in the news on Friday morning.
A little-known football player from the University of Georgia unintentionally gained notoriety on Thursday, costing his team 15 crucial yards and securing a place in social media annals for all time.
Early in the second quarter of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, redshirt sophomore cornerback Parker Jones made a crucial play in favor of the opposition Notre Dame, and despite not wearing pads on Thursday, he was still trending online on Friday morning.
Arian Smith and Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton connected for a 67-yard bomb that went all the way to the Irish 11-yard line.
Inside a clearly marked white lane that runs out of bounds, along the sidelines, that is supposed to be clear of any players, side judge JB Garza collided with Parker, who was not wearing a Georgia jersey but was still wearing a red one, as the official chased after Smith and Irish defender Xavier Watts.
The drive halted at the Notre Dame 26 when the Dawgs were called for 15 yards. Peyton Woodring’s 41-yard field goal was Georgia’s last option after runs of 2 and 1 yards preceded an incomplete throw.
That play was described as “very unfortunate” and a “self-imposed” wound by Georgia coach Kirby Smart.
“The officials are the only ones allowed to wear white. After the game, Smart stated, “That raises safety concerns.” “We didn’t capitalize on the fact that we still had first-and-ten. But once more, I refer to those things as self-inflicted, undisciplined wounds that you know cause you to lose momentum.
It’s impossible to say whether Georgia could have converted a first-and-ten from the eleventh yard line. Furthermore, Notre Dame’s 23-10 victory in the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinal game most likely had nothing to do with those lost points.
Nevertheless, Jones appeared to receive the Steve Bartman treatment for his unintentional mistake.
Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports and the leader of the online pitchfork army, stated on Thursday, “If Parker Jones had a sense of the moment he’d wear a fake mustache when he comes out for the second half.”
Although Parker was the subject of a global network of jokes, a sizable portion of online users defended him by arguing that ESPN cameras shouldn’t have spent so much time on him following the play.
Trent Read, who owns a business appraisal firm in Utah, defended Parker right away in an X reaction that, by Friday morning, had received over 80,000 views.
“To take some poor scrub who is not even suited up, beyond having his jersey on, and to make him infamous and compare him to (Cubs fan Steve) Bartman is just over the top,” Read stated to NBC News on Friday.
“They didn’t actually lose by four points. ‘Oh, the momentum would have been so different,’ you may add. They didn’t swing the momentum during the entire game. It is not justified to try to assign this child a lot of guilt.
Jones attended Deerfield-Windsor School and is described as a 5-foot-11 cornerback from Albany, Georgia. There are no statistics available for him.
A comment from the student-athlete could not be obtained right away. No one in the family, including his son, would publicly comment on the sideline incident, his father told NBC News on Friday.
The incident that occurred on the sidelines on Thursday was the second time this season that a backup player infuriated Smart with non-linear behavior.
When cameras seemed to capture backup safety Jake Pope celebrating with Mississippi fans following a Rebels victory over the Bulldogs, Smart snapped at the player, labeling him a “idiot.”
Pope expressed his regret and clarified that he was simply thrilled to see old friends again, while a remorseful Smart stated he shouldn’t have branded his player a “idiot.”
