NFL teams making Brandon Spikes answer for Ealey eye gouge
Former Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes faced an obvious question from potential employers at the NFL Combine.
The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun says the question went like this:
“Why did you try to gouge a player’s eyes out?”
The player, of course, was Georgia freshman running back Washaun Ealey.
And Spikes’ answer to the NFL teams that asked the question?
“I told them it’s the SEC, Florida-Georgia is a big rivalry,” Spikes said, according to the Sun. “There were a lot of emotions going on. Both sides were taking shots at each other. But that’s why I suspended myself. That’s not the way the game is supposed to be played.”
The apparent attempted eye-gouging –- cameras caught Spikes sticking his fingers inside Ealey’s facemask — occurred during Florida’s Oct. 31 victory over Georgia. Spikes was suspended for one half of the following game by Florida coach Urban Meyer, and the player extended his own suspension to a full game because, he said at the Combine, “I didn’t want young guys to think that was the right way to play the game.”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
391 comments Add your comment
Vol Nation
March 2nd, 2010
11:06 am
He’s a Gator thug. What more needs to be said?
Dawglasville
March 2nd, 2010
11:07 am
I wish that the state of Florida could produce the high level jobs my great state does so you Gator grads wouldn’t have to come up here to live and gloat about games you never played in.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:08 am
Vol Nation, who asked you? go back to bed with your sister.
Me
March 2nd, 2010
11:08 am
I just can’t wait to get up to Athens so I can go see that “Highest Player Drafted” Trophy at the U of Georgia Football Complex!
Gen Neyland
March 2nd, 2010
11:09 am
austin : I’m no Gator, but that’s just plain dumb. Look over a NFL roster. They come from everywhere. Everywhere.
bruce mac
March 2nd, 2010
11:09 am
Gators have put tons of players in NFL, just not quarterbacks. No Pro aspiring QB is going to UF and run that offense as it doesn’t translate. But, that type QB isn’t the one CUM wants anyway. There is not a National Championship in College Football so how can that be the measure? The measure is SEC Championships and since CMR wins as much as anyone we will keep him, thank you.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:09 am
Dawglasville, we dont gloat, we respond to what whining puppies have to say.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:11 am
Bruce, we hope you keep him a long time. As far as types of QB’s, I think Mr. Brantley will be the type you approve of, except of course when he continues the trend of wins.
Dawglasville
March 2nd, 2010
11:11 am
Ponce- Hines was a selfless college player who took it for the team and moved from WR to TB to QB for the team. If he could have stayed at WR the entire time he would have been one of the best. Hershel was a great pro, just not like we expected. He got pounded for 5 years in the USFL and he is still one of the best all purpose yard guys of all time.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:14 am
Dawglasville, you might add that Hines was voted the dirtiest, but no one is comparing him to Spikes. Hershel was not a great pro. He got pounded in the USFL because he was too greedy to stay for his whole time at UGA.
Edders
March 2nd, 2010
11:15 am
Ponce,
Hines was better than an “average” college player. Do some research before making such an idiotic statement like that again in the future.
bruce mac
March 2nd, 2010
11:17 am
It is not my approving, it is the NFL that doesn’t like your QB’s. They don’t and won’t like Brantley because he won’t be taking the ball under center and he won’t be running a pro type offense that develops the reads and throws they want in the NFL. Doesn’t make Brantley a bad QB, heck he might be the best QB in College next year, but the NFL won’t like him high in the draft. And yes, we will keep CMR and we will beat the Gators again soon but it isn’t about beating the Gators, it is about the body of work. CMR compares with anybody you want to compare him with even the great CUM.
xyz
March 2nd, 2010
11:18 am
Wow, a Gator fan is really talking about “dirty” players? How many guys have you had shooting off AK-47s in public, stalking women, breaking into houses, driving drunk, stealing sh*t or nearly killing other students so far this week?
Dawglasville
March 2nd, 2010
11:18 am
Ponce- nothing to gloat about unless you are Tebow or Urban himself. I do like the beaches at the gulf, Disney, South Beach, and the Cuban food in Miami. Nice to visit. I guess that is why we are both here.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:18 am
Edders, did he make any all star teams? what round was he drafted in? UGA fans believe that the sun rises and sets in Athens and all of the best players go there. Thats why they have so many NC’s since 1980. Edders, was I right about the NFL players voting him the dirtiest? He might be Spikes role model.
Papadawg
March 2nd, 2010
11:19 am
Hey Gators your pants on the ground
riley
March 2nd, 2010
11:19 am
If UF’s players had to pass an 8th grade reading equivalency test then Meyer wouldn’t be able to field a team
Edders
March 2nd, 2010
11:20 am
all star teams?? You know we’re talking about football, right douchebag??
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:20 am
riley are you too young to remember Jam Kemp?
How2fish
March 2nd, 2010
11:21 am
Ponce I agree my point was that my beef with UGA was not making Spikes pay on the field…you and I both know 10-15 years ago someone would have had a spirited talk with any player acting like that…hell if we had done that to a Gator player it would have happened right then and that’s to my mind Ok better if it never happens but…..
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:23 am
Edders, you are typical of dawgs, you call names when you cant win an argument. I take back everything Ive said. Dawgs are the best, they dont cheat, all of their players graduate, CMR wins over CUM every time. The Dawgs are the best at everything. The have the greatest player of all time, they play clean hard football and thats why the refs never throw flags on them.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:24 am
How2fish no one saw it on the field, only the next day on you tube. Im out, been fun girls.
dan
March 2nd, 2010
11:25 am
The eye gauge was pretty bad and if Spikes were a normal civilian, he would be in jail.
With that being said, when UGA jumped in Florida’s endzone 2 years ago, they took this game to another level. I personally loved the endzone dance even if we’ve had to pay for it two fold the last two years. But I also concede that we probably deserve any cheap shots that we get from it as well. The way I look at it is this: All the great rivalries have had cheap shots in them( Steelers vs. Raiders, Bears vs. Packers, Miami vs. FSU etc.). I personally wish Mark Richt would grow a pair and own up to the fact they he meant to jump in Florida’s endzone and if given the chance would do it again. Florida deserved it after all the years they intentionally ran up the score on opponents especially UGA. They made no apologies for it so why should we? I think the players would respond positively to it, I really do. I want UGA to play with a swagger, like good teams do, instead of playing like a bunch of scared pussballs like they have the last 2 years vs. Florida. If Spikes puts his hands in your facemask then bite his fingers and I’ll guarantee he won’t do it again. Because I can assure you, if he pulls that crap in the NFL he’ll get knocked the hell out.
DawgTime
March 2nd, 2010
11:26 am
Are all SEC honors considered as “making an all-star team?”
How2fish
March 2nd, 2010
11:27 am
Ponce Jam Kemp?? Really never heard of her/him…lol..and no one gets a free ride anymore without the grades at UF or UGA…well maybe UT..but I think that will change with a Dooley in charge..
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:27 am
dan, Well said. you are the first UGA fan on here that acts like a man instead of a pu$$y.
Ponce = mentally retarded
March 2nd, 2010
11:28 am
Next day? That’s why the commentators were talking about it right after it happened???? What a moron
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
11:29 am
Ponce = mentally retarded, he stupid ass, I was at the game and no one in the stands near me or the refs saw it.
hmmm....
March 2nd, 2010
11:30 am
Dan,
You are a bit confusing. You want Richt to own up to the endzone dance (which he has about 10 times over) yet we don’t owe any apologies? Contradiction don’t you think?
And I don’t know about you, but my mouth isn’t anywhere near my eyeballs. I’d love to see how you can bite someone’s fingers off when they are at your eyes.
Ponce = mentally retarded
March 2nd, 2010
11:31 am
Cause you weren’t able to see it as clearly and closely as you could on tv you idiot. How old are you, 12??
Edders
March 2nd, 2010
11:33 am
Look at little poncey getting all kinds of ANGRAH!!!! What’s the matter little boy? Can’t handle big boy talk?
Whiskeydawg
March 2nd, 2010
11:33 am
Coach told me to.
Dawglasville
March 2nd, 2010
11:33 am
Ponce- you’re not out. Your curiosity will suck you back in. For the record I love Hines’ toughness. Look at all of the cheap torpedo shots WR take from DB’s. I love it that he puts them on alert. As of 2008 Hershel was #8 in the all time all purpose yard stat. Jerry Rice, Sweetness, Barry Sanders are some of the others. Not too bad for a guy who played 5 years in the other professional league first. Not every cries about the Spikes thing. The kid made a bad decision and he is paying for it now.
GatorSense
March 2nd, 2010
11:34 am
As a Florida Fan ..I can say that Brandon Spikes was Classless and if anyone believes he suspended himself ..I have land for sale with a foot of water over it….SORRY Mr. Ealey…from a true UF Graduate.
Tom
March 2nd, 2010
11:35 am
UGA is near the top of the SEC in graduation as of late. While UF is still at the bottom
takedowndawg
March 2nd, 2010
11:37 am
ponce, her name was jan kemp, not jam kemp. I have not heard the exact SAT number that Georgia must satisfy with its prospective athletes but it widely reported that UGA athletes must have a higher pt. average than its other SEC counterparts. What does give some credence to this areover the yearss the athletic scholarship athletes that are academically ineligible for UGA than are easily accepted at other SEC schools; Tennesee, Arkansas, Auburn etc.
San Francisco Dawg
March 2nd, 2010
11:37 am
Spikes will fall into the 4th round…no speed, IQ of a penny, has no shame when it comes to hurting others and has no leadership skills…yep, the NFL knows who you are Spikes…
Dancing Machine!
March 2nd, 2010
11:37 am
Richt’s coming up a new creative taunting penalty to pull out against Florida this year—bank on it! (if they score a TD, of course). It will be something should really “fire up” his team!!!!!!! He’s a genius!
Dawglasville
March 2nd, 2010
11:44 am
Speaking of crying, I’ll do some. Does anyone remember the game during Quincy’s junior year when Donnan installed the option and Florida could not stop it? That game a Gator hit Quincy very late after a pass and almost knocked him out of the game. It definitely looked like one of those “trade the 15 yards, but make the QB hurt” deals. It worked. He got hurt and he had to stop running the ball. As time goes on it just blends into those 17 losses out in the last twenty years. Like the year Shockley was out. I’ll admit, that is crying but it just seems like a nice vent. They have had the better team and program over the last 20 years. Hopefully that wheel will come back around sooner than later.
EvenAgainstUGA...
March 2nd, 2010
11:48 am
Not an excuse that should be accepted…even against UGA. Character and sportmanship should always rule in all aspects of life and the football field with thousands of fans watching is evan more paramount for proper behavior. All the more so since the game should not promote violence other than proper tackling techniques. That said…if it was bound to happen…better against a school that does not care about building up its students (see Jan Kemp, Physical Education test scandal, or even their lapse of getting a promised insurance policy for a returning player that rejected NFL overtures) than a school that actually attempts to educate its young men at far more than simply 12 Saturday’s per year for four or five years.
BS
March 2nd, 2010
11:50 am
I would suspend myself also if I knew we were playing vandy the next week hahaa
No Excuses
March 2nd, 2010
11:51 am
San Francisco Dawg, yes the NFL knows who Spikes is; especially Knowshon.
No Excuses
March 2nd, 2010
11:52 am
BS, not if you played for UGA, they would need Spikes for the Vandy game.
No Excuses
March 2nd, 2010
11:54 am
takedowndawg, do some research before you post dumbass. UGA is in the middle of the pack. Excuses……..cry me a river dawg fans.
How2fish
March 2nd, 2010
11:55 am
No Excuses ..Spikes won’t last 3 years in the NFL..Tebow will last longer. EvenAgainstUGA..really like a school that recruits players that beat up women…hell even UT players do is just knock off 7-11’s. best get out of that glass house with those rocks son.
poopdawg
March 2nd, 2010
11:57 am
Dawglasville Quincy was a good enough athlete to run the option but he wanted no part of it. (too soft) Donnan should have figured that out. Didn’t take much to hurt Quincy. Takedowndawg , i was talking football never been to the big house and don’t plan on going. Go Dawgs!
takedowndawg
March 2nd, 2010
11:59 am
no excuses, your “advice” for me might be a worthwhile exercise for yourself. What is your factual complaint, dumbass?
dawgrific
March 2nd, 2010
12:01 pm
Amen to Karl Childers’ first post! Also, he has always been a classless, smack-talking thug, and he should have been called for a penalty after his opening tackle on Moreno 2 years ago. A great hit/play, followed by about 10 seconds of laying on top of him, while head-butting, spitting and gyrating during a serious smack-talk performance. One of many calls we didn’t get, by the way, as we were sent a message by the refs for the celebration the year before. Anyway, I don’t recall tebow lecturing/preaching about how awful spikes’ actions were on either of those occasions. Classless and clueless, win-at-all-costs mentality, which certainly starts with cum and filters down.
Jimmy
March 2nd, 2010
12:05 pm
Spikes answer to the question was terrible.
He was still making excuses for his actions.
His answer should have been:
“I just got caught up in the emotion. I realize what I did was dangerous. It is no way to play.”
This, “people were playing dirty” crap is no excuse.
Take full responsibility and move on.
That is the best PR move.
But, perhaps it didn’t hurt him with teams.
dawgrific
March 2nd, 2010
12:09 pm
williams “maybe-late-hit” was at elast a clean hit, true football play, and not an attempt to seriously injure someone, and perhaps end his career-apples and oranges comparison