Mel Tucker disagrees with 'judgement call' in targeting penalty on LB Cal Haladay

Cal Haladay was ejected for a targeting call in Michigan State’s win over Western Kentucky, and his subsequent suspension will keep him sidelined for the first half of the Week 6 game against Rutgers.

It seems that many targeting calls so far this season have been especially controversial, and Haladay’s was no different. It did not appear to be an especially egregious hit and did not look to be helmet-to-helmet contact.

On Tuesday, head coach Mel Tucker addressed that call. Tucker said he did receiver clarity on it as a judgment call from the officials. It’s definitely a call he disagrees with, but he says there is nothing the Spartans can do but move on prepare for Haladay’s absence.

Mel Tucker said MSU got clarity on Cal Haladay’s targeting call. “It was a judgement call from the officials. I don’t agree with the call, but it is what it is. There’s nothing we can do about that at this point.”

Said the other LBs we’ve seen playing will fill in.

— Stephen Brooks (@StephenM_Brooks) October 5, 2021

Hopefully, Michigan State’s defense is able to hold its own until Haladay is able to enter the game. Haladay is a redshirt freshman that was a 3-star member of the 2020 recruiting class.

Haladay has 37 total tackles with 1.5 TFL through the first 5 games of the season. He ranks third on the Spartans in tackles and posted a career-high 10 tackles against WKU.