LSU coach Les Miles has defended Josh Boutte after the offensive lineman was ejected for a late hit during the Tigers’ shock defeat to Wisconsin on Saturday.
Boutte levelled D’Cota Dixon with a blindside hit after the Badgers safety had all but sealed the win with an interception with 57 seconds left in the game. Play was dead at the time and Dixon was celebrating.
“I grabbed him right away,” Miles said. “I’m going to have to see the film, but he’s an offensive lineman in protection and what happens downfield sometimes is you’re protecting beyond the play ... Again, I’ll have to check this, but it’s very logical that he did not even know [Dixon] had gone down and was just running [with the ball].”
#LSU's Josh Boutte should be thrown off @LSUfootball @JackWagner54 @Canuck289 @iDroneHD @AlHopper_ @lsu pic.twitter.com/qULETB36XB #LSUvsWISC
— Uncle Bill 🌎 (@UBtalkin) September 4, 2016
Boutte could be disciplined further once the NCAA reviews game footage. “He’s not a malicious guy,” Miles said. “I just can’t imagine that he saw him go down and then made it back.”
Boutte also appeared to receive support from Dixon himself. “I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t see the hit or anything,” Dixon told ESPN. “I was shocked a little bit, but it’s all right. I’ve been hit harder. I understand. It’s part of the game. He was frustrated, probably. I’d be frustrated too.”
The defeat was Miles’s first loss in a season opener as LSU coach. It was also a big setback for a team considered one of the favorites for the national title.
