The Washington Huskies could be without tight end Quentin Moore for the next few weeks, as the senior suffered an apparent knee injury in the second quarter of the season-opening 35-3 victory over Weber State.
That leaves coach Jedd Fisch’s team with just two scholarship tight ends available for the time being, as sophomore Ryan Otton is a few weeks away from being able to practice, and freshman Charlie Crowell is out for the season.
Moore’s injury is a big blow to Washington’s depth, which could be extremely frustrating, to say the least, for Fisch if the Big Ten rules that Weber State linebacker Garrett Beck was ineligible to participate in the play. A video posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night showed that Beck, who made the tackle that injured Moore following, started the play out of bounds before coming onto the field after the snap.
https://twitter.com/WestCoastCFB/status/1831149878216716414
According to a report from Andy Yamashita of the Seattle Times, Washington has submitted the video to the conference for review. A Big Ten crew headed by referee Francisco Villar officiated the contest.
This should be an open-and-shut case, as the NCAA rulebook reads, “No incoming substitute shall enter the field of play or an end zone while the ball is in play.”
However, any resolution to the matter might feel like too little, too late, since the damage is already done.
Update: A Big Ten spokesperson acknowledged that the play was a miss by the officials, and a five-yard penalty should have been enforced at the end of the play.
https://twitter.com/ANYamashita/status/1831440948594954403