Texas Tech football: Colin Schooler’s hit on Charlie Brewer goes viral

The goal-line hit by linebacker Colin Schooler on Baylor’s Charlier Brewer that saved the game for the Texas Tech football team has gone viral.

Fifteen years ago, the greatest hit in Texas Tech football history took place when Red Raider safety Dwayne Slay nearly decapitated KSU QB Allan Evridge in a game in Lubbock.  But now, there’s competition for the title of the most violent stop in Red Raider history.

With 1:44 to play in the third quarter, Baylor faced a 3rd-and-goal from the Tech four-yard-line.  That’s when the Bears’ QB, Charlie Brewer, attempted to take matters into his own hands and scramble up the middle of the defense for the score.

It looked as if he had an easy path to six points but as he reached the endzone, he was obliterated by Texas Tech middle LB Colin Schooler.  It was perhaps the greatest form tackle in the history of the Big 12 and one of the most violent hits in program history as Brewer’s body arched backward in mid-air after making contact with the heat-seeking missile that was Schooler.

Now, that play has gone viral as fans across the nation have taken notice of Schooler’s amazing play.

In response to the video posted by FOX College Football, there were a number of funny gifs posted by football fans around the nation.

What’s more, the video of the hit was shown by the Twitter account for the college football podcast Unnecessary Roughness and through that account, it had been viewed over a million times by Sunday morning.

The play was remarkable for several reasons.  First of all, it was amazing because of what Schooler did prior to making the hit.

As Brewer neared the goal line, Schooler was screened by Baylor’s tight end Drake Dabney, who looked as if he was boxing out Schooler for a rebound on the basketball court.  But obviously, Dabney didn’t know Schooler was essentially hiding behind him and stalking Brewer.

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From the endzone view of the play, Schooler’s brilliance is evident as he shoves the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Dabney into Brewer’s path thus forcing the QB to dart to his left where Brewer was waiting to attack.  And after the game, Schooler shared that his play on the tight end was a deliberate decision.

"“I don’t think the tight end saw me,” Schooler said.  “But I was able to shove him one way, to force the quarterback to go another way.  So by doing that, I knew I had leverage and knew which way to go.  When you’re inches from the goal line, you need every advantage you can get.  So by recognizing that I can use his body to force [Brewer] another way, I was able to get a for-sure angle on the quarterback.”"

Another brilliant component of the play was the tackle itself.  In an age where targeting penalties seem to be levied after every violent hit, Schooler didn’t draw a foul because his tackle was textbook perfect.

"“Well, it’s on the goal line,” Schooler said after the game, “so a lot of rules and techniques go out the window, it’s stop them by all means.”"

Those comments aside, Schooler didn’t abandon his technique.  In fact, no coach in America could teach a better form tackle than the one Schooler let loose on Brewer.  That’s why this incredibly violent tackle was not flagged for targeting as Schooler kept his head up and did not lead with the crown of his helmet.

To cap it all off, this play was huge in the outcome of the game, Schooler’s stop forced Baylor to kick a field goal and you have to wonder if BU head coach Dave Aranda didn’t decide to go for the TD on fourth down in part because he feared that his QB might be a bit woozy after such a big hit.  But whatever the reason, Baylor decided to settle for three points and that left the door open for the eventual Red Raider comeback.

In fact, the Bears wouldn’t score again on the evening, and that stop was the turning point in the game.  It was also arguably the most spectacular tackle in the modern era of Texas Tech football and one of the plays of the year in the NCAA.