Terez Hall returns for Mizzou football after targeting penalty in loss at Alabama
Terez Hall oozes confidence when he speaks. The linebacker’s boisterous comments sometimes feel far fetched, like when he said his 3-3 Missouri team should have won every game it’s played this year — even after a 39-10 loss to No. 1 Alabama.
The senior preaches belief. He says the Tigers’ players need to trust one another to make plays: That’s what makes teams like Alabama great. He’s the Tigers’ voice on defense, an NFL hopeful and a team captain.
But against the nation’s top team, Hall barely played for a quarter.
“Kicking me out, that basically changed the momentum,” he said after practice Tuesday.
With Missouri trailing 13-10 early in the second quarter, Hall stopped Alabama running back Damien Harris at the line of scrimmage. His helmet collided with Harris’, and officials ejected the senior for targeting. Alabama fans jeered as Hall marched off the field.
The Crimson Tide scored a touchdown moments later, and Missouri never pulled within one possession again.
Hall, the Tigers’ third-leading tackler, said he felt emotional watching the rest of the game on TV. He had missed an opportunity to play one of the best teams in the nation. In his mind, he lost the chance to take down a powerhouse.
Coach Barry Odom said that, by the rule, the officials made the right call on the targeting penalty. Odom also pointed out that Alabama’s running back lowered his head to try for a few extra yards, which put Hall in tough position.
“If they lower their head, you’re taking one to the chest or something like that,” Hall said. “You’re going to get a muscle contusion to the chest or the heart attack or something. The deal is, you’ve got to protect yourself.”
The linebacker also said he was frustrated when he learned Alabama’s Raekwon Davis punched Missouri offensive lineman Kevin Pendleton. While Hall had to watch from the visiting locker room, the officials didn’t eject Davis.
Hall said he is excited to be back on the field Saturday for Missouri’s homecoming game, and his linebacker group will face a test in Memphis running back Darrell Henderson, who leads the nation in rushing yards and is second in touchdowns.
Though Henderson has impressed Hall on film, the Missouri linebacker doesn’t want to make him out to be an unstoppable force. He said that’s where some opponents go wrong facing teams like Alabama and its star quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.
“You can’t put guys on pedestals,” Hall said. “They put that guy — what’s his name? Tua? Their quarterback? — on a pedestal. He’s no different than me and you.”
Hall, who has talked about researching opponents’ social media profiles for trash-talking material, certainly hasn’t acted like he’s putting Henderson on a pedestal. He recently favorited a few of the running back’s tweets, presumably attempting to get in his head.
Though Missouri is coming off three SEC games, two of which were against top-10 teams, Hall said the Tigers aren’t overlooking Memphis. He hasn’t forgot when Middle Tennessee State upset Missouri in the Tigers’ 2016 homecoming game.
The targeting call cost Hall a complete experience at a historic college venue, but it also kept his body fresher than it would have been had he played the full game. Hall said he’s able to able to look at the ejection’s silver linings, though he’s ready to be back on the field, hopefully for more than a quarter.
“I’ve just got to keep playing football,” he said. “I can’t really worry about (targeting). They aren’t going to change the way I play.”