Last Saturday, Florida erased a 21-10 deficit to Kentucky without starting quarterback Feleipe Franks to win a 29-21 thriller in Lexington. Franks sustained a season-ending injury in the loss, leading to Kyle Trask taking over and leading the comeback at the start of the fourth quarter. During the comeback, some viewers noted that Kentucky linebacker Kash Daniel appeared to intentionally twist Trask’s ankle at the bottom of a pile, but Daniel denied those allegations. A new video released today though casts doubt on Daniel’s denial.
Kentucky LB Kash Daniel said that his “hand was stuck underneath a lineman’s leg” when asked if he intentionally tried to hurt Florida QB Kyle Trask. This video looks to show otherwise. pic.twitter.com/z5dfoHQRKx
— CONNER (@CJ_Clarke1) September 19, 2019
This story has been bubbling under the surface all week long, and Kash Daniel responded to the allegations after practice yesterday.
"I'm not out there to twist nobody's ankle or hurt nobody."@KashDaniel15 received some scrutiny for an alleged dirty play on Florida QB Kyle Trask. @JonHale_CJ asked Kash for his side of the story. pic.twitter.com/ZaOhFWkYWA
— Eli Gehn (@EliGehnLEX18) September 18, 2019
He flatly denied any wrongdoing in the above video by saying:
“I’ve kept my mouth shut about it and I’ve been biting my tongue as long as I can, because that’s something I actually hold close to me. I was the victim of a dirty play, and if you don’t believe me, I have a plate of screws in my right ankle to prove that. I’ve got a scar halfway down my right leg. I’m not out there to hurt anybody.”
Since this new video was released earlier today, there have been growing calls to punish Daniel for the incident. It seems clear that Daniel intentionally tried to injure Florida’s backup quarterback, and The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker believes that a suspension is in order.
Been gloriously, almost completely off Twitter this week. But this Kash Daniel thing is pretty simple: It looks like he A) did, in fact, try to hurt the Florida QB’s ankle and B) concocted a righteously indignant tall tale about it. Stoops should sit him. Just can’t do that.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) September 19, 2019
Coming into this year, Daniel was one of four returning starters on defense and he has emerged as the leader of the unit. Daniel registered 84 tackles in 2018, and he has 19 tackles and an interception this season.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has yet to announce if Daniel will be punished in any way. The Wildcats will head to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs this Saturday.
H/T Saturday Down South and Yahoo Sports
