This story was originally published on October 1, 2023.
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
RUSTON — Louisiana Tech has indefinitely suspended football player Brevin Randle, the school acknowledged Saturday, after the senior linebacker maliciously shoved a downed UTEP offensive lineman, then stomped on his head during a Friday night game at El Paso, Texas.
The incident occurred during the second quarter of a Conference USA game ultimately won by Tech, 24-10. Game officials did not notice the flagrant acts as they were focused on determining which team had possession of the football in a pileup only a few feet away.
Randle, a transfer during the offseason from Stephen F. Austin, fell on offensive lineman Steven Hubbard, who was on his stomach on the ground at the end of the play. As Randle got up, he shoved the prone Hubbard in his upper torso, then got to his feet and stomped on Hubbard’s helmet while exiting the pileup. Hubbard’s legs and body twisted in obvious pain for a few seconds after he was stomped on.
Neither coaching staff apparently noticed the flagrant foul at the time, but UTEP coach Dana Dimel said he was informed about it at halftime from the game’s lead official, according to the El Paso Times.
“The referee, who I really admire, came over at halftime and very gentlemanly said that he missed it. That’s part of the game. He (the official) was a class act. I really appreciated that.”
There was no indication if the referee visited with Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie, but Randle played after halftime. He finished as the Bulldogs’ leader with three tackles for lost yards and had a quarterback sack among his six total tackles, tied for fourth on the team.
The incident was replayed on the CBS Sports Network telecast, and clipped and posted on social media, raising the ire of fans and media. Over a half-million views were registered by late Saturday morning.
Early Saturday afternoon, Louisiana Tech provided a statement to some media outlets from university vice president and athletics director Dr. Eric A. Wood.
“Here is an official statement from Dr. Wood on Brevin Randle being suspended indefinitely. Coach Cumbie will be releasing a separate statement later today.
“Coach Cumbie and I met with Brevin Randle today and informed him that he has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the incident during last night’s game versus UTEP. In speaking with Brevin, he acknowledges that his action was wrong and understands the consequence of that action. Our University, athletic department, and football program believe in culture, class, and competitive excellence and in no way was that displayed in that moment.”
Cumbie later posted on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account @SCumbie_LaTech a statement of apology:
“I want to apologize to coach Dimel, Steven Hubbard and the UTEP football program on behalf of our team and coaching staff. What happened during the game was far outside the bounds of sportsmanship and competition. We have indefinitely suspended Brevin and will continue to address consequences.”
Louisiana Tech hosts Western Kentucky Thursday night.
Randle is the team’s second-leading tackler, with 46 stops, and leads Louisiana Tech with eight tackles for lost yards. He is a resident of Marshall, Texas, where he starred at Marshall High School. He played in 37 games at SFA, but only four in 2022, and is listed as a redshirt senior at Tech.
His personal X account, @BrevinRandle6 as listed on his official bio on the LaTechSports.com website, was apparently disabled at some point Saturday and was inaccessible.
(Note – the initial version of this story improperly identified Randle as the Bulldogs player featured in a video clip walking off the field. I apologize for the mistake. – D.I.)
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com