Hokies Football: Dadi Nicolas Suspended For First Half Against Virginia

The Virginia Tech Hokies suffered a tough, home loss on Saturday in overtime against the #17 North Carolina Tar Heels 30-27 on a somewhat controversial touchdown pass that some believe should have been overturned. However, the moment of the day came after the end of the game when the players came out and carried Frank Beamer off the field in his final home game. Another notable moment in this game was when Dadi Nicolas, frustrated about an offsides call, hit the arm of referee Ron Cherry, and was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Today, Virginia Tech announced a penalty for Nicolas's actions against Cherry. https://twitter.com/AndyBitterVT/status/668851553445507072 Even with the hit not seeming to be intention but a "heat of the moment" thing, Beamer made the right decision suspending Nicolas for a half against rival Virginia. This definitely should be a reminder for Nicolas in the future to keep a cooler head on the field no matter how wrong he feels the official's call was. This decision comes in contrast to Urban Meyer's decision not to suspend Ezekiel Elliott at all despite how he called out the coaches after the game, said he was going to the draft, and then kind of apologized for saying he was going to the draft by saying he was going to do it for a month. Elliott made a "heat of the moment" mistake, but that doesn't mean he should get no suspension. In this case, Meyer could learn something from Frank Beamer in how he handled Dadi Nicolas and suspended him for a half despite Nicolas's mistake being not as bad as Elliott's. For the first half of the Virginia game, Vincent Mihota seems likely to start in-place of Nicolas with Seth Dooley also rotating between both sides as the Hokies' third defensive end. Mihota and Dooley have both been solid when they have came in this season and while they aren't as good as Nicolas, they can be solid replacements for the senior defensive end for a half. Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech made the right decision in suspending Dadi Nicolas for a half against Virginia.