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Don’t mess with Texas (seriously): Players likely to be penalized for Horns Down taunt
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The Horns Down taunt has really been circulating through all of college football as one of the sport’s most popular taunting gestures over the past few years. But the Big 12 wants to squash any and all fun, apparently.
Greg Burks, the Big 12 coordinator of officials, told reporters on Thursday at Big 12 Media Days that the conference would be harsher on taunting gestures for the upcoming season. That includes Horns Downs.
“Let me put it this way, Burks said, per ESPN. “If you do a Horns Down to a Texas player as an opponent, that’s probably going to be a foul.”
Burks also said that if a player gave the gesture to the crowd, it would probably not be a penalty. However, he emphasized the world “probably,” saying “we have to consider intent and consider the situation. We’ll leave it to officials.”
Taunting penalties are nothing new to college football, though there’s very little transparency in where the line is drawn. Because Horns Down has become such a popular taunt among Texas opponents, the Big 12 has felt the need to address the issue.
It should be interesting to see how this taunt is officiated throughout the course of the 2021 season. And you can bet it will create quite the stir on social media every time an opponent is penalized for the gesture.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB