Umpire gives LSU assist

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Oct 21, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:25 a.m.

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Instinct or self-defense?

Or was Wilbur Hackett Jr. just reliving his days as a linebacker at Kentucky?

Somewhere in the answers to those three questions lies an explanation for why a Southeastern Conference umpire is a YouTube.com phenomenon this week.

Hackett landed in the spotlight — but not in hot water — when he inadvertently (apparently) logged an assisted tackle against South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia during LSU’s 24-17 triumph against the Gamecocks Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Late in the first half, South Carolina’s Carlos Thomas intercepted a Jarrett Lee pass and returned it to the Tigers’ 8-yard-line. On the Gamecocks’ first snap, Garcia took a shotgun snap and ran to the right side on an option read play.

Garcia cut back against the grain and seemed to have an angle and open path toward the end zone, but Hackett at first held his ground and then appeared to plant his feet and unload a forearm shiver on the Gamecocks QB.

That slowed Garcia down enough for LSU safety Curtis Taylor to level Garcia at the 4.

The Gamecocks scored two plays later to take a 17-10 lead, but only after a hold-your-breath moment for USC fans when Garcia bobbled a third-down snap.

“We told (Hackett), ‘Listen, you’ve got to use your flipper, you’ve got to use your forearm, but then once you have contact, you gotta wrap up,’ ” Miles said, tongue-in-cheek. “He didn’t wrap up.

“I want you to know that we were disappointed in his effort to be honest with you. We felt like he could knock him down a little bit.”

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier wasn’t as jovial, but also didn’t fault Hackett.

“He was trying to get out of the way,” Spurrier said. “Stephen sort of cut back right into him. Sometimes that will happen.”