Justin Jefferson Confirmed Out for the First Half

Alabama linebacker Justin Jefferson was ejected for targeting USF quarterback Byrum Brown during the second half of Saturday's win against USF.

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No penalty flag was thrown on the play, but officials stopped the game and reviewed it. After review, Jefferson was ejected for targeting, and Alabama was assigned a 15-yard penalty for the infraction. Because the penalty happened in the second half of the game against USF, Jefferson will have to miss the first half of Alabama's next game, per the targeting rules.

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On Wednesday, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer mentioned that Alabama had appealed the suspension to the rules committee and the NCAA. If Alabama won the appeal, Jefferson could play the first half against Wisconsin.

DeBoer also mentioned that Alabama lost the appeal. Jefferson will miss the first half of Alabama's game against Wisconsin.

"Yeah, he'll be out for the first half. So confirmed that," DeBoer said.

The silver lining is that while Alabama will be without third linebacker Jefferson, Wisconsin's starting Mike linebacker will miss the first half as well due to a targeting call in the second half of Wisconsin's 27-13 win over South Dakota.

DeBoer was asked on Wednesday about the mandatory targeting call.

"I think every situation is its own situation," DeBoer said. "For probably many of these guys, it's unfortunate because they're really trying to do the best they can. They're not intentionally trying to go in and hurt someone.

"I know Justin felt that way. Unfortunately there's the criteria and he met the criteria for it to be targeting. That's part of the game of, I guess, as an advocate for the game of football, we've got to err on the side of safety. There's been enough that happened throughout the course of the game and the history of the game to where we've had to have some rules in place. I know they're constantly being looked at and doesn't mean we can't stop tweaking things a little bit here and there just to try to find that common ground, that scenario that seems best for all the situations because they definitely don't fall under one category."

Jefferson, while not listed as a starter, is still a valuable contributor to Alabama's defense and special teams. He is currently third on the team in total tackles with 12. He also has one sack for Alabama's defense this season.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.