Meet Wilbur Hackett Jr., the referee who tackled Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia over the weekend during their game against LSU. See photos, video and read a biography of Wilbur Hackett Jr below.

Wilbur Hackett Jr 1





Wilbur Hackett Jr.





I don’t know what was going through Wilbur Hackett Jr.’s mind when he tackled South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia. I mean honestly, you can see in the video that it does not look to be an accident, and he clearly hits Garcia with his shoulder. He must have relapsed and thought he was on the field again, saw the open opportunity to take Garcia down and went for it. Heh.

Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier defended Hackett, saying:

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

The SEC reviewed the tackle and felt that Hackett did no wrong. An SEC spokesman stated that Hackett “raised his arm to defend himself after a change of direction by the runner”. Um, okay ;)

Wilbur Hackett Jr. Biography

As a biography, Wilbur Hackett was a Parade Magazine All-American, All-Southern and All-State football player for Clemson in 1966. The following year, he became a linebacker for the University of Kentucky for three years (1967-1970). After his football days, he married Brenda Phelps and worked over the next several years for the Criminal Justice Commission, Sysco, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Toyota Motor Corporation. Of course, you can see him on the field, where he has been an SEC official since 1998.

Video of Wilbur Hackett Jr. tackling quarterback Stephen Garcia is below.


Wilbur Hackett Jr. - Video