Wells addresses questions about injuries, questionable calls

LOGAN – Saturday night’s loss to Air Force left USU fans with some questions. Head coach Matt Wells responded to a few those during his press conference Monday morning.

Several key players were hurt during the game. Safety Dallin Leavitt left on crutches, as did running back Devante Mays. Tight end Wyatt Houston was also hurt during the game. Wells said Houston is fine, but as for Leavitt and Mays, he said he doesn’t know their statuses yet.

“We’ll see about (Dallin) Leavitt and (Devante) Mays, I’ll know more tonight, this afternoon, once X-rays, MRIs and all that stuff are back,” he said. “If they are out for an extended time, I’ll let you know. If they’re not, it’ll be day-to-day and we won’t really talk about it anymore.”

Many fans were upset with some questionable calls made by referees, especially after those call were confirmed by replay officials. Ron’Quavion Tarver appeared to make a touchdown catch as he fell out of the endzone. The referee called the catch incomplete. In a press conference after the game Tarver said he made the catch.

A second review came on a fourth down the same drive. Wide receiver Andrew Rodriguez appeared to make a catch that would have given USU a first down, but the official said the ball hit the ground. After a review, the ruling was confirmed. Rodriguez said he doesn’t think the ball ever hit the ground.

“I thought I caught it too,” Rodriguez said Monday morning. “But ultimately it happened really fast. I was able to watch the TV copy to kind of have an idea and a better angle. I still think I caught it. It’s over with now, what I think doesn’t matter.”

The third review came after a fumble by quarterback Kent Myers, giving Air Force the ball in the redzone. The officials determined that the ball came out before Myers hit the ground.

Wells said he looked at all three questionable replays before he left the stadium Saturday night, but declined to give his thoughts.

“We’ll see if anything comes out today from the Mountain West office,” Wells said. “We’ll just leave it at that, because I know this (press conference) thing is live streamed.”

Wells said the conference always gives him a response to his inquiries about questionable plays.

“They’re very professional, very thorough,” he said. “We just don’t get to go back and hit replay. You don’t get to go back and review them, that’s okay. We turn them in and get responses back. That’s usually how the process works.”

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!